


Symphony

by Subby_star



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Art, Bipolar Disorder, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Fluff, High School, Humor, Minor Violence, Murder Mystery, Music, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pyromania, Sasuke does not have fangirls, Slice of Life, at least i hope so, bipolar! Tobi, non cliche, not your typical highschool au, touretter! Deidara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:55:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29682207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Subby_star/pseuds/Subby_star
Summary: The story follows the academic life of  the students of Konoha School of Arts (KSA). KSA is a school for the richest, most talented and brilliant students but things get interesting when a new principal decides to enrol students that are not academically sound or rich based on talent alone.The students accepted based purely on talent are placed in Recuperative classes where subjects would be taught specially to them in a way they would understand. It is basically known as the Dumb class.To put it frankly, the rich geniuses can't stand the new system and the the dumb class can't stand them either. There are fights, hilarity ensues and it would take a while to get used to each other but hey, it's a pretty fun school.Just read the book. The blurb is a bit difficult to put down but the chapters are way better.I do not own Naruto.
Relationships: Akimichi Chouji/Karui, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji/Tenten, Inuzuka Kiba/Tamaki, Nara Shikamaru/Temari, Sai/Yamanaka Ino, Sarutobi Asuma/Yuuhi Kurenai, Uchiha Itachi/Uchiha Izumi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, thanks for choosing Symphony. I hope you enjoy it! ❤

_♪_ _Woke_ _up_ _with_ _yawning_ _,_ _it's_ _dawning_ _._ _I'm_ _still_ _alive_ _._ _Turned_ _on_ _my_ _radio_ _to_ _start_ _up_ _new_ _day_ _._

 _As_ _goddamned_ _DJ_ _chattered_ _how_ _to_ _survive_ _,_ _amazing_ _news_ _got_ _over_ _on_ _my_ _airwaves_ _._ _.._

Music blasted through the blonde's headphones as he mounted his bike. The wheels made soft squeaks from old age and proper use as he pedalled down the street.

 _♪_ _Tonight_ _,_ _love_ _is_ _rationed_ _._ _Tonight_ _,_ _across_ _the_ _nation_. _Tonight_ _,_ _love_ _is_ _spread_ _worldwide_ _._ _Almost_ _another_ _day_ _._

His golden tufts of hair played with the wind as his hood fell back to reveal his face. Tanned skin adorned with three whisker like birthmarks across each cheeks made up his handsome face and embodied the bluest of eyes one could ever see. His eyes rivalled the ocean on a clear sumer day but those eyes held no mirth despite the nature of the song he was listening to.

He turned off the music which was performed by Beat Crusaders and kept his iPod in his worn out orange backpack. Inhaling and exhaling enthusiastically, he pushed the glass doors of his destination open. The bells above the door tattled on his arrival. He was not even allowed a breathing space before he was hounded by the owner of the shop.

"You are late, Naruto!"

 _No_ _he_ _wasn't_ _._

"Come on get your body moving! You should be thankful that I even employed you to work here so move it!" The snarky woman yelled. The teen, Naruto, resisted retorting and decided to begin work instead. Her words had some truth to it for she was the only one to take pity on his sorry self and employ him. She wasn't faithful in his paycheck payment though, he received his wages as when she felt up to it.

After a day of hard labour despite working in a coffee shop, Naruto finally trudged home with his bike dragging along beside him. " _Tadaima_ _._ " The blonde called out to the emptiness of his house. The place was a small rooftop apartment, nothing to be proud of, but it was the only place he could afford.

He washed his hands and boiled water for instant ramen. After the excruciating three minute wait, he was set to eat. After his meal, he went to the small TV he owned and inserted a tape into the DVD outlet. He skipped the tape to the part he loved best and stood up. Michael Jackson played from the speakers as a man danced to the rhythm. He was graceful, boneless and spineless. His legs glided across the platform like it was made just for him.

Along with each step he made, Naruto danced along. His heart poured out into his movements and he became one with the dancer. The song ended and both men were panting slightly. The man's blond hair glimmered under the spotlight and his blue eyes shone. He looked just like Naruto save for the whisker marks. Naruto collapsed to the floor and hugged his knees as he skipped the tape again.

 _"_ _The_ _artiste_ _of_ _the_ _year_ _,_ _Fire_ _Awards_ _goes_ _to_ _..."_

There was a drumroll as the camera showed all the nominees for the famous awards.

 _"_ _Namikaze_ _Minato_ _!"_

The camera zeroed in on Minato's reaction. The man grinned widely and cheered as he climbed up the stage to receive his award which was one amongst four other ones. He was given the chance for a speech which he did with a smile.

 _"..._ _and_ _most_ _of_ _all_ _I_ _appreciate_ _my_ _girlfriend_ _,_ _Uzumaki_ _Kushina_ _,_ _for_ _always_ _being_ _with_ _me_ _._ _You_ _are_ _the_ _best_ _girlfriend_ _a_ _man_ _could_ _dream_ _of_ _,_ _I_ _love_ _you_ _."_

Echoes of 'awws' and applauses filled the place as a red haired woman arose from the crowd and made her way to the front. She held a bouquet of flowers but didn't give them to him, instead she wrapped her slender arms around his neck and gave him a loving kiss. The two parted and smiled brightly to the crowd as they cheered for them. Naruto inserted another disc of the blond man dancing and danced along with him. He watched as he won the artiste of the year consecutively for five years and paused the screen on a particular scene.

The man and his now wife smiling brightly to the screen.

Pale pink lips quirked up in an attempt to imitate the big smiles on their lips. He was successful but he could not mimic the glint in their eyes. Their eyes showed love, joy and happiness but his own eyes were hollow. Sighing, he switched off the TV and went to the bathroom to take a shower. He passed by some newspaper article cut outs and some dismissed papers and stopped to look at them.

 **ENTERTAINMENT** **NEWS** **:** **UZUMAKI** **KUSHINA** **GIVES** **BIRTH** **TO** **A** **BABY** **BOY** **.**

 **NEWS** **FLASH** **:** **TEENAGE** **BOY** **STABS** **PARENTS** **TO** **DEATH** **!**

 **JUST** **IN** **:** **NAMIKAZE** **MINATO** **AND** **UZUMAKI** **KUSHINA** **MURDERED** **.** **SUSPECTED** **MURDERER** **IS** **THEIR** **TEENAGE** **SON** **!**

 **BREAKING** **NEWS** **:** **NAMIKAZE** **NARUTO** **TO** **ATTEND** **COURT** **TRIALS** **FOR** **THE** **ALLEGED** **MURDER** **OF** **FAMOUS** **COUPLE!**

Naruto growled and kicked the papers away before going into the bathroom. After a shower, he changed and lied down on his futon. For some minutes, he stared up at the ceiling which had brown rings from roof leaks and simply counted them. _Tomorrow_ _would_ _be_ _better_ _than_ _today_ _._ He told himself and with that shimmer of hope, he allowed himself a dreamless sleep.

_\------------------_

_Today_ _would_ _be_ _a_ _shitty_ _day_ _._

Naruto sighed as he mounted his bike. First, he had little to no sleep last night. Second, he woke up late, irritable and annoyed. Third, his bicycle's wheel decided to take a vacation so he spent time fixing it. All these coincidences made the blond teen decide that today would not be good.

It didn't surprise him much when he found another person doing his job in the coffee shop but it still hurt. He was about to ask what was going on when the shop owner called him separately into her office.

"Naruto, can I see you for a moment?" The blond followed her into her office where he awaited the worst. "I am sorry but I can no longer keep you in this shop." The bombshell was dropped.

"W-what?! But I have been working here for almost a year now!" Naruto complained.

"Yes and my business has been putting up with you likewise. The shop hardly attracts customers just because it is you serving them. I only took pity on you and employed you but it is not doing good for me." The woman slid a paycheck down the table towards him. The tan young man took it and frowned at the digits there.

"This is not my full pay! You gave me a half salary last month and didn't pay at all the month before that." Naruto complained.

"Like I said, it is because of you the business is not running well. It can't be helped that I gave you half your wages. Now please leave, I have work to attend to." The woman stood to leave the office.

"It's unfair! I worked harder than everyone here, how could you do this?!" Naruto protested but it fell on deaf ears.

Upon getting to his rooftop apartment, he saw the landlord furiously knocking on the door and that was when he remembered that he had been given a quit notice the week before. He was to either pay on before today or move out. Neither options were good for he had no money or a place to move to if he moved out. The landlord, after his knocking barrage, noticed the teen coming and marched to meet him.

"You are owing in your rent! I am very sure that you were given a quit notice, Naruto!" The man bellowed.

"I am so sorry, can I pay half of it?" The blond teen bargained.

"Absolutely not! You have been owing me for three months now. Either pay in full or leave this place now!" Landlord raged. Sighing, Naruto packed the little he had and surrendered the key to the landlord.

Stares were cast his way as he trudged down the street with his bag. His bike made squeaking sounds as he pulled it along with him. He could hear the whispers but paid them no attention for he was used to all of the hate directed towards him. Naruto allowed his legs to take him wherever they willed as he mindlessly wandered around the streets of Konoha.

By the time he came to, he found himself in front of a local dance studio. It wasn't anything fancy, just a small building with graffiied walls where hipsters liked to hangout but it was Naruto's second favorite place in Konoha, the first being Ichiraku Ramen shop.

 _I_ _can_ _sleep_ _here_ _tonight_ _,_ _I_ _guess_ _._

And with that thought, he pulled his bike over next to the building and went inside the open doors of the place. It closed at five everyday so Naruto made a plan to hide during the closing hours. That way, he would be locked in and would have a place to rest.

A blond brow raised when he heard the soft thumps of a dancer's feet against the floor. He thought the place was empty. His feet drew him towards the sound to an open door where he saw the most beautiful sight ever. A girl dancing. Her black shiny hair which seemed navy blue under the light bounced off her body as she danced to music playing on her purple headphones.

Naruto found himself entranced by her beautiful moves. He noticed that she used her toes to dance sometimes and it was graceful like a swan. The girl suddenly noticed his presence behind her through the mirrored walls (Naruto had no idea when he walked inside the room) and spun around.

Unique pupil-less lavender eyes met with ocean blue eyes and both froze for a moment. _She's_ _beautiful_ _!_ Naruto was starstruck. What ever moment they had was broken when the girl's ivory face bloomed red and she ran away, shoulders brushing against Naruto's in the process.

The latter sighed at the reaction. He was unsurprised that she ran after realizing out who he was. Putting the thoughts behind him, he decided to hide in the changing room.

**Xxx symphony xxXxxX**

"Ladies, stand straight." A woman instructed. Two girls, one with black hair that shone navy blue under the light tied into a bun and pearly lavender eyes, and a younger one with brown chocolate hair tied likewise and the same pearly lavender eyes, obeyed their instructor. "First position," They both moved their legs. "Second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and rest."

After a few more stretches and positions, they started their dance practice. Both were dancing the part of Clara in the Nutcracker. A good ways into the dance while the elder one was doing a spin, she missed her footing and fell. The instructor sighed, this was not the first or second time it happened.

"Lady Hinata! I see you have not been practicing your twirls." The woman reprimanded.

"I am sorry, I'll get it next time." The older girl, Hinata, apologized albeit halfheartedly. You see, she didn't like ballet but her father disapproved of what she really liked to do.

"If you keep on like this, you would never become the prima ballerina of Konoha School of Arts."

Hinata sighed. The school she attended was a prestigious art school which produced world class celebrities and figure artists. The ravenette liked that she was in an art school but she was not free to do what she really liked for fear of her father getting angry at her. 

After the ballet practice was over Hinata ran to her room (more like she speed walked to her room) and quickly changed into some casual wear. A light blue jacket on a white and purple shirt and dark jeans with purple sneakers to match. She wore her purple WiFi headphones and connected it to her iPhone and took her orange fox themed wallet. She was ready.

As she was about to jump down her window and sneak outside the huge mansion, a knock interrupted her along with a deep rich voice. "Don't even think about it, young lady. Now open the door." Hinata groaned and marched to the door, swinging the wooden door open to reveal a handsome guy standing there with his arms crossed. 

He had dark brown and almost black long hair which flowed down in straight chocolaty glaciers down his back. On his forehead was a blue tattoo shaped like an X with two hooks on either side of it (~ x ~) which was a result of teenage hormones and rebellion. Hinata remembered the day he was caught (he had been using a tacky leather head gear to cover it up), her father kept hounding him for weeks.

"Neji-niisan!" Hinata exclaimed sheepishly.

His unique lavender eyes gazed sternly at her. "Where are you going this time?" Her older cousin, Neji, stepped into her room and closed the door behind him. The two of them along with their younger sibling were so close, one would think that they were real siblings. Neji's parents died when he was four and Hinata was three, so he was adopted into the family by Hinata's father and his uncle.

Hinata flopped unto her bed and groaned. "Niisan..." She whined, pulling on her best puppy eyes and a cute pout. Neji only frowned harder. "Gah, it never works on you!" The girl exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Of course, I am immune to the little sister cuteness virus." The older chuckled and pinched her cheek. "Going to Shippuden street again?" He asked.

"Yes. I promised Kiba and Shino that I'll be there, I don't wanna disappoint them. Also..." An elegant brow raised at his baby cousin's reaction at the last mumbled word. Her cheeks flushed and she played with her fingers. She was nervous.

"Also?" He pressed.

"Uh?! Nothing!" Hinata nervously yelled and frantically flailed her hands.

"Hmm, I trust Shino but Kiba...if he tries to hit on you again, I promise him a slow death." Neji threatened. 

"So...you're allowing me to go?" Big lavender eyes looked up hopefully. Neji sighed.

"I'll cover up for you, just make sure to be back before five thirty." Neji admonished.

"Hai!" Hinata pressed a kiss to his cheek and in a blink, she was out the window.

"Goodness gracious, who would believe that shy Hinata is that active underneath?" A new voice asked from the doorway. It was Hanabi, Hinata's younger sister by three years and four years for Neji. Said guy turned around to face his littlest sister-cousin who was leaning on the door with her arms crossed and a smirk on his face. "I tell you she has a crush she's going to see at Shippuden street."

"I really hope it's not Kiba."

"Nah." Hanabi waved a dismissive hand. "They're platonic. I think this guy is a stranger. I wanna know how he looks like!" The brunette pouted.

"Should we follow her?" Neji suggested.

"We should mind our business." Hanabi reprimanded but deep down she wanted to do exactly what he said.

"But she's our sister." Neji tempted. "We're only looking out for her, riiight?"

"Riiight." Hanabi succumbed but then Neji flicked her forehead with a finger.

"Who would cover us up if we did? Come on, let's do something together." Neji said with a smile.

"Okay! Let's make plush toys!" Hanabi exclaimed excitedly and led Neji by hand through the big mansion.

\------------------

"Oh, she's here already! Hinata!" A brunette called out to her waving his hands in the air. He had red upsidedown triangles on both of his cheeks (a family trait) and unique slit onyx eyes (also a family trait) along with sharp canines poking out from his lips which gave some kids the impression that he was a blood sucker (also, also a family trait).

He was wearing a red jacket on a white shirt with tan jeans and white Nike shoes to match. Next to him was a boy his age with dark shaggy hair and sunglasses. Most of his facial features were covered by the army green hooded jacket and matching scarf that he wore. His hands were buried deep inside the pocket of his jacket, silently observing everything that was going on. He did that so often that his friends even forget about his presence sometimes. No hard feelings there.

Hinata ran towards them. "Kiba-kun, Shino-kun!" She greeted them respectively and knelt to give the big white dog beside them a hug. "Hello Akamaru." Akamaru barked in response and licked her face in greeting. The dog was Kiba's exceed and service dog. Just three years ago, he was the most adorable pup ever seen. Oh well.

"You brought your Bluetooth speaker, yeah?" Kiba asked Shino who nodded and held up a black and green water bottle shaped speaker. "Cool! Come on before those pesky kids hijack our room!" And with that, they all ran to the local dance studio in Shippuden street.

Hinata met Shino in school during her freshman year in middle school. She was an awkward and extremely shy girl with no friends until Shino talked to her. He was awkward and most of the time silent but they both loved dancing. The duo met Kiba later in the dance studio. Due to Hinata's father and his social standards, the teen had to dance pop secretly and that was how they found Shippuden street and where they met their third member.

Kiba was from an average family and could not afford to enrol in Konoha School of Arts (KSA) so they could only meet during weekends or holidays. However, the new principal of KSA, Senju Tsunade, gave a chance to those with talent to enroll into the school based on skills. There would be a talent audition and the selected would be enrolled into KSA.

They got to the place luckily before younger teens started coming and chose the biggest dance room in the place. Akamaru was allowed in because he was a service dog. Hinata's eyes searched the people there but couldn't find what, more like who, she was looking for. She pouted in disappointment and followed the boys into their chosen room. Orange range's Asterisk blasted on the speakers as the trio danced to their hearts contents.

After hours of dancing, Kiba remembered that he had studying to do which he hated but had to do because of his enrollment into KSA whereas Shino needed to be home early. "I'll stay here for a bit. Bye guys." Hinata waved as they left.

"See ya! Let's go Akamaru!" The dog in question barked and followed his master while Shino waved and silently walked out. One would think the guy is mute with how silent he was. Once they were gone, Hinata connected her headphone to her phone and continued dancing to Tatiana Manoas' You mean to tell me. The song was a little fantasy of hers but... The guy she liked didn't even know her. Heck, she barely knew him! It was more of a crush at first sight thingny than anything but damn did she like him.

Hinata stopped. She noticed somebody staring and spun around to face whosoever it was only to be knocked off her feet by the sight of the vulpine boy she so admired. His golden blond hair scattered in wild directions as usual and his tan skin glowed under the light. He wore an orange hoodie as usual which made the girl like the colour and his adorable fox whiskers...he was a Greek god!

His big blue eyes met her doe lavender ones and slowly, Hinata was turning red because Omgmycrushlookedmeintheeyes! The moment they had was broken because her phone secretary reminded her to be at home before five thirty and the time was five o'clock. With that, she took off like a gazelle when it spots a hunter and in her clumsiness bumped shoulders with him.

This would be an interesting year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song used in the chapter: Tonight Tonight Tonight by Beat Crusaders.


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the kudos and comments!❤

"Ahre? Did you get locked in yesterday?" A voice woke Naruto up from his sleep. Groggily wiping the sleep crust from his eyes, the vulpine blond sat up on his makeshift mat and blinked at the man in front of him. Like him, the man was tanned and had brown long hair tied into a ponytail. A scar ran across the bridge of his nose but that didn't obscure the man's good looks.

His brown eyes widened in recognition and Naruto sighed, packing up his makeshift mat and ready to leave. Everybody was the same, judging him before even knowing him. "Na-Naruto?" The man stuttered.

"I'll leave very soon so chill." Naruto muttered and got up, slinging his bag over his shoulders and preparing to leave when the man stopped him.

"Hold on, you slept here?!" He asked incredulously. "No that's not the point. Is this how you've been living? Have you been sleeping here?! How have you been living?!" All these questions were simulated by the bag Naruto carried and his worn out clothes.

"Who are you mister?" Naruto asked curiously. This man didn't detest him like most people did, instead he acted like he knew him from somewhere other than newspapers.

"You don't remember." It wasn't a question.

"No."

"I guess not. I am Iruka, Umino Iruka, it's nice to meet you." The man, Iruka, introduced himself.

"Uzumaki Naruto...although you know that already." Naruto added dejectedly and started walking away when Iruka called out to him.

"I am sure you haven't eaten breakfast yet. How about it? My treat." Naruto turned around to scan the man's face for any ill contempt but all he found was warmth and nostalgia. It was impossible, the blond decided, for this man to kill a fly.

"I want ramen." He dictated and Iruka laughed heartily.

"I was expecting you'll say that. Freshen up and let's go, okay? How does Ichiraku sound?"

"Ichiraku?! Hell yes!" Naruto yelled and bounded off to the changing room to freshen up. Iruka laughed at his antics, the laughter which died down to a sad smile.

"Naruto... How have you been?"

×•×• _symphony_ ×•×• 

Iruka and Naruto made their way to Ichiraku's making small talk which was mostly the older man asking the younger questions. Ichiraku was a small and comfy shop with warm red and white walls with brown wooden chairs. Teuchi, the shop owner and chef, beamed at the sight of his two best customers while Ayame, his daughter waited on them.

"Hello Naruto, Iruka, what are you having today?" She asked as the two took their seats.

"Miso ramen." Naruto ordered.

"Beef ramen for me please." Iruka politely ordered and took a sip of some water which was offered to him. "So what about school?" The brunet asked the blond teen as they waited for the ramen.

"Dropped out." Naruto spoke but was interrupted by Teuchi who dropped a bowl of ramen at his and Iruka's front.

"Thanks for waiting." The man grinned and resumed his work.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto exclaimed and proceeded to dig in. Iruka thanked for his food in a quieter tone than Naruto did and slurped neater than he did too.

"You dropped out of school?" The older man asked, wanting to continue the previous conversation with the teen.

"Yeah." Naruto gulped down some ramen. "A lot of things happened so I couldn't enroll into one." His blue eyes dimmed with sadness ever so slightly before lighting up again. "Another serving please!" He yelled to Teuchi before grinning sheepishly at Iruka. "It's okay with you, right?" He scratched the whiskers on his cheeks, a nervous habit that he had.

"Eat as much as you want!" Iruka smiled and ordered a second bowl for himself. He watched as the foxy boy ate bowl after bowl of ramen and smiled nostalgically. He remembered the _incident_ vividly and never believed anything the press said but he was the only one that seemed to believe that the boy was innocent. After _that_ he searched everywhere for Naruto but couldn't find him. It was nothing short of shocking to finally find the child he was looking for, except the child had grown into a fine young man.

A few moments with Naruto was all he needed to know that the teen's big smile hid many things. The loneliness eating him from the inside and the despair gnawing at his heart were obvious through those blue eyes that were subtly begging for help. After his sixth bowl of ramen, Naruto finally laid off of Iruka's wallet and gave a hearty belch.

"Mind your manners." Iruka softly reprimanded. "I have a proposition for you." He announced.

"Eh? What is it?" Naruto asked, a questioning look sprawled across his face.

"I have a free room in my home which is just lying waste. Do you want to live with me?" Iruka asked. Naruto's questioning look morphed into one of suspicion.

"What is the catch?" The whiskered boy asked.

"It must be a hassle looking for a place to sleep every night or do you plan to be locked in that cold studio till it opens at noon everyday?" Iruka asked. Naruto weighed his options and decided that there was nothing to lose anyway so he agreed to follow this nice stranger home. "That's great! We have to buy you new clothes and shoes and furniture I think, come now."

They bid their farewells to Teuchi and Ayame and left for the mall. Naruto was frightened that Iruka would max out his card on him but the man assured him not to worry. After some hours of shopping, Naruto had a closet's worth of new clothes and shoes, a new phone and laptop and basic things a teenager needed. The teen wondered why the man was going all out to cater for him but Iruka left no room for question.

It was evening by the time they were done shopping. They took a taxi to Iruka's home which was in a decent apartment building. "Welcome home." The brunet greeted as he ushered Naruto in. The place had cool mint green walls and warm brown linoleum floors. The ceiling was white along with brown patterns to match the floor and brown couches were seated in the living room. The place reminded Naruto of ice cream in a way.

"It's cozy." The boy commented.

"Thank you, now follow me." Iruka led Naruto to an empty room. The walls of the room were bleach tan and brown with sparse furniture, hence the need for new ones. "Make yourself comfortable for this is where you would be staying from now on. The bathroom is down the hall and my room is across yours. Unpack while I get dinner ready." With that Iruka dropped the boxes and bags he was carrying and left the room.

Naruto looked around the room in awe and sat on the soft bed. When last did he sleep on a bed? He got up and started unpacking before the depressing thoughts got the best of him and by the time he had finished, Iruka had prepared dinner for them. The blond marvelled at all the rice and side dishes that this stranger went all out to prepare for him.

"Dig in." Iruka encouraged with a smile.

"Itadakimasu." Naruto thanked and took a chopstick full of rice and meat. The food was delicious and warm, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Nostalgia crashed through him in waves, manifesting themselves as tears in his aqua eyes. Iruka saw them and instantly freaked out like the mother hen he was.

"Eh?! Is the food alright?! I am sure I cooked it well, is the meat undercooked or the rice?! Are you allergic to bean paste?! Is..." Naruto interrupted his rambling with a shake of his head.

"It's delicious and warm and...why? For me, why?" Naruto sobbed. "I am just a stranger to you." Iruka's brown eyes softened at that.

"You are not a stranger, Naruto. Eat up and I will show you something." Iruka said and picked a piece of fish with his chopstick and put it in Naruto's rice. The latter smiled genuinely, his first in years, and ate the food with no restrictions.

After the hearty dinner, both men went to the living room after that Iruka had gone to fetch something in his room. The brunet came back with a big wine photo album and set it in front of Naruto. "I was a kindergarten teacher before I went for my masters and upgraded to an highschool teacher." Iruka spoke as he opened a page. "Look , it's you!"

Naruto looked at the picture and the person Iruka pointed, it was indeed him. It was a picture of several chibis clinging on to their teacher which was Iruka. "You were my teacher?" Naruto asked.

"More than that. I guess you really do not remember." Iruka said softly.

"I don't remember my childhood." Naruto's eyes dimmed over but Iruka changed topic before the atmosphere could change further.

"I suppose you were given education in the juvenile centre?" Iruka asked and Naruto nodded.

"I am not good at studying though."

"Don't worry! I have a school in mind for you to begin highschool with. As luck would have it, we are entering a new academic year and a new school system is in place so entering KSA would be no problem..." Iruka was once again cut off from his rambling by Naruto who had a freaked out look on his face.

"Wait wait wait! Did I just hear KSA?!" The boy shrieked. It was understandable. Other than the terribly high school fees, the score standard for acceptance was nothing to sniff about. It was a school for rich, genius and snubby spoilt brats, he could NEVER fit in!

"I did." Iruka said as if he were discussing the weather. The man noticed the look on Naruto's face and chuckled upon realization. "Don't worry about my pocket or your brain." He reassured. "While there are scholarships for smart people, the new principal, Senju Tsunade has given opportunities for those with talent. I have seen you dance before and I know you have talent so you shall participate in the talent hunt." Iruka declared.

"Talent hunt?" Naruto's eyes sparked a bit but dimmed over again. "But what if they don't accept me just because of who I am?" His voice was small and cracking.

"You do know that your mother attended this school right?" Naruto nodded. "You want to make your parents proud, right?" Another nod. "Furthermore, you want to clear your name right?" Naruto nodded again. "Well then, I don't see anybody listening to what you say if you are a commoner. I want you to be the best, clear your name and show everyone that they were wrong about you."

"Iruka..." Naruto wailed and hugged the man. There was a feeling of familiarity between them that Naruto could not place his fingers on. "Thank you, thank you so much!" He sobbed into Iruka's shoulders.

"There there." Iruka rubbed soothing circles on the boys back until he calmed down. "Now let's sign you up for the talent hunt." He spoke.

"Hai!"

_**Xxx symphony xxX** _

The next few weeks found Naruto practicing hard for the KSA talent hunt. He worked out the best song to use, which choreography to use and what he wanted to tell through the dance so he was confident by the time the auditions came.

His jaw dropped at the sheer size of the school. The maroon brick walls of the place was beautified with different colours of bougainvillea along with beautiful horticulture. A big black gate marked the entrance of the school, leading to a big front lawn which had a sculpted seraphim as a fountain. Perfectly mowed carpet grass stretched out en masse, being separated by cemented walk paths with ornamental shrubs on either side. The building itself was brick brown with white pillars and big golden letters spelling out 'KONOHA SCHOOL OF ARTS' and the leaf symbol of the school engraved beside the letters.

"Is this a school or a mansion?!" Naruto rasped in awe.

"Don't worry, it's a lot bigger than it looks." Iruka's attempt to calm him down only made him giddier. The school was bustling with activity. Different streamers and banners decorated the place but not as much as the amount of costumes. There were so many people with so many talents, it was impossible for him to pass!

They were given number tags according to their registration numbers and were told to wait for their turns in a hall. The auditions were streamed on a screen in the hall for the participants to watch. It was amazing. Naruto's seat was beside a girl's. Her chestnut brown hair was in two distinctive buns on her head which was something Naruto noticed first about her. The next thing he noticed was her clothes which consisted of baggy cargo shorts and a red baggy hoodie. She also carried an old eighties' radio which Naruto vaguely wondered if they worked.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, you are welcome to Konoha School of Arts first talent hunt, I am your host Shiranui Genma and I would now introduce the judges." A voice spoke from the PA system which belonged to a man wearing a bandana over his head with a toothpick in his mouth.

Naruto wasn't really paying attention so he only got the judges names. The woman among them with black layered hair and red unique eyes was Yuhii Kurenai, the man in green was Might Gai and the man with a beard was Sarutobi Asuma. The blond was proud of himself for even remembering their names.

"You need two approvals from the judges in order to pass this audition but don't rejoice yet, you still have to be shortlisted by the judges in order to be enrolled. Those that made it would be informed via email. So then, let's get the auditions started."

There were lots of performances, some were good enough for the judges approval, some were good to Naruto but not to the judges, some were just bad, some were boring and some were funny. Some people went off key in singing while others forgot the lyrics in nervousness. Some dancers fell in the middle of a stunt, some instrumentalist forgot how to play, some were too confident and when they ended up failing they started hounding the judges for impartial judgement.

"Contestant #59, Nara Shikamaru."

After a few minutes of waiting and no Nara appeared, they made the announcement again. That was when a sleeping dude in front of Naruto was startled awake by the guy beside him. "You're number 59 dude!" Said boy yawned and muttered something before dawdling to the audition room. Naruto sweat dropped at the boy's attitude. It was like he didn't care at all.

"You are Nara Shikamaru?" Judge Kurenai asked.

Shikamaru, a teen with jet black long hair packed up in a ponytail which reminded Naruto so much of a pineapple and droopy brown eyes, responded. "Hai." And he sighed. "What a drag."

"What's with this dude?" The girl beside Naruto asked nobody in particular. "It's like he doesn't want to be here." Naruto couldn't agree more.

"So Shikamaru, let's hear you." Gai said and Shikamaru started his presentation.

 _"_ _Beautiful_ _maiden_ _,_ _tall_ _and_ _fair_  
 _Endowed_ _with_ _grace_ _,_ _glory_ _and_ _flair_  
 _Nobody_ _hears_ _your_ _cry_ _of_ _despair_  
 _Nobody_ _knows_ _that_ _life_ _was_ _not_ _fair_

 _While_ _yet_ _in_ _your_ _innocence_ _you_ _bask_  
 _Deceitful_ _forces_ _around_ _lurk_  
 _To_ _bring_ _an_ _end_ _to_ _you_ _was_ _their_ _task_  
 _And_ _with_ _foreign_ _riches_ _you_ _,_ _did_ _they_ _lure_

 _Like_ _a_ _rose_ _trampled_ _on_ _the_ _floor_  
 _Dejected_ _and_ _shameful_ _they_ _found_ _you_ _at_ _last_  
 _You_ _,_ _oh_ _beauty_ _,_ _whom_ _all_ _adore_  
 _Is_ _the_ _talk_ _of_ _all_ _nations,_ _of_ _lands_ _which_ _are_ _vast_

 _You_ _should_ _have_ _done_ _what_ _a_ _woman_ _does_ _,_ _beautiful_ _maiden_  
 _But_ _are_ _no_ _more_ _for_ _shame_ _buries_ _you_  
 _You should have done what a woman does, beautiful_ _maiden_  
 _And_ _let_ _all_ _lies_ _become_ _true_ _."_

By the end of Shikamaru's sorrowful song, the auditorium was somber with some people crying. His voice was soft, sullen and smooth, reaching out to the depths of people's hearts as he sang. Naruto felt the song especially because it seemed like Shikamaru was singing to him. It was wonderful. It was no surprise that the lazy bum got a golden buzzer which meant that he was surely going to be enrolled.

"HOW WONDERFUL AND YOUTHFUL WAS THAT PRESENTATION!" Some kid yelled at the back but Naruto could not bother to see who it was. The next contestant was an Inuzuka Kiba and he was a dancer. Red triangle marks decorated his cheeks but it suited him so Naruto couldn't comment. Besides, he was the one with whiskers here for crying out loud.

Kiba danced to an indie rock song which told of the story of unrequited love in a boy's point of view. The wild looking boy was unexpectedly good at dancing to the mild tempo of the song. Kiba's body motions and emotions which attracted the crowd to him. The girl beside Naruto scoffed defiantly but he knew that she was impressed by Kiba's dancing. The wild looking boy got three pass buzzers after his performance.

"Yes! Thank you! Yes!" Kiba jumped and practically skipped out of the audition room. The next few auditions were nothing special to Naruto except one of two girls who sang a cappella for a gospel song and passed. Then after a series of performances, it was the turn of the girl beside him.

"Contestant #76 Tenten."

"Hello Tenten, I see you have no last name." Judge Asuma commented curiously.

"Hai." Tenten replied curtly and dropped her old radio.

"Wow, that's a pretty nostalgic radio!" Judge Gai said enthusiastically. "I am guessing you dance!?"

"Yes."

"Well then Tenten, let's see your performance." Judge Kurenai offered.

An old hip hop song by Rick Ross started playing and Tenten moved like she owned the music. She was boyish in her dancing but managed to add some hip sway. As she break danced, her eyelids fell closed to let the music carry her and become her feet. The baggy clothes she wore did nothing to hide the seemingly spineless way her body moved, it was awesome. Tenten got three pass buzzers for her amazing dance.

"Contestant #77 Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto."

As Naruto expected whispers immediately took over the waiting hall due to the revelation of his identity.

"Namikaze?! _That_ Namikaze?!"

"What is _he_ doing here?!"

"Does he really think the judges would accept him?!"

"I thought he was in jail?!"

Naruto ignored the whispers, having being used to it already, and walked into the audition room. He expected to see hateful glares from the judges but was met with quite the opposite.

"Uzumaki Naruto? So what do you do?" Judge Gai asked like he did to other contestants.

"I dance, 'ttebayo." Naruto replied.

"Just like your father I see." Judge Asuma muttered before giving him the go ahead. "Well let's see what you've got."

Electronic music started playing as Naruto moved to the rhythm.

 _I_ _was_ _a_ _human_ _breathing_ _,_ _and_ _thinking_ _,_ _eating_ _and_ _drinking_ _,_ _philosophizing_ _._

 _I_ _was_ _a_ _human_ _before_ _you_ _killed_ _me_ _and_ _ripped_ _my_ _heart_ _out_ _,_ _I_ _knew_ _what_ _love_ _was_ _._

 _Now_ _when_ _you_ _ask_ _me_ _,_ _I_ _just_ _reply_ _slow_ _and_ _sound_ _like_ _an_ _iPhone_ _,_ _I_ _do_ _not_ _know_ _love_ _._ _I_ _am_ _a_ _robot_ _._

As Naruto danced memories came flooding into his head unbidden. They were memories he tried gravely to erase but couldn't. He remembered the blood, he remembered the ghastly faces, he recalled vividly how his mind became blank, the mistake he made and realized a little too late that he did, his verdict, the hatred from people, the prejudice, everything. Tears flooded his closed eyelids as he channeled his emotions through dancing.

His feet were gliding as though they were in the air and his body moved in flawless synchrony with the music, effectively capturing his audience.

 _For_ _I_ _had_ _a_ _fire_ _,_ _blushing_ _and_ _desire_ _._ _Now_ _all_ _I_ _require_ _are_ _sockets_ _and_ _wires_ _._ _Inside_ _was_ _an_ _ocean_ _of_ _solemn_ _emotion_ _,_ _then_ _you_ _cut_ _me_ _open_ _and_ _all_ _that_ _I_ _know_ _is_ _I_ _am_ _a_ _robot_ _._

Naruto finished his choreography as the music faded to a stop and wiped the tears on his face away as if everyone watching hadn't seen it there before. Judge Gai gave him an enthusiastic standing ovation while judge Asuma clapped on his seat and judge Kurenai wiped her tears.

"He's pretty good." The girl that went before Naruto commented to no one in particular after seeing the performance on the screen in the waiting auditorium. She blew a bubble with her gum, eyes fixed on the wild guy that danced to indie rock before her. "He's pretty good too." She said with a smirk. Oh how she loved competition! The three of them were break/pop dancers and she was looking for a challenge.

Naruto got three pass buzzes and smiled to himself. The rest of the auditions were a blur to him. He only paid attention to a few other people which included a chubby guy whose song gave Naruto the impression that he was singing about chocolate truffles. That or this ordeal was making the vulpine teen really hungry.

Iruka was waiting for him by the time he decided that he'd seen enough funny auditions. The older man tousled his hair affectionately, causing the people that were staring at them (Naruto) to instantly break into whispers and gossips which had Naruto worried that Iruka might not want to be seen with him in public but apparently, the older man wasn't bothered in the slightest. **(** **Longest** **sentence** **I've** **written** **so** **far** **.😅😂)**

"You got three buzzes!" Iruka praised. "We shall have something special to celebrate, yeah?"

And Naruto threw his worries into the wind. Iruka was sincere about wanting to take care of him, that much he'd figured these past months and the man had begun to grow on him too.

"Can we have ramen?"

"Ramen again?" Iruka sighed.

"Ramen is awesome dattebayo, and you can't deny it!" Naruto defended the food sent from God (to him) and crossed his arms defiantly to make himself seem serious which he was.

"Hai hai, since you got three buzzes ramen it is. Ichiraku, _ja_?" Iruka chuckled at his antics.

"Ichiraku ramen is the bomb! Come on! Come on! Come on!" Naruto started bouncing on his feet as excitement to eat the heavenly Ichiraku ramen fueled him.

"Hai hai." Iruka smiled and picked up his pace. Suddenly it felt like Naruto was eleven again begging his parents for a dope new video game after he had managed to pull off a C+ in an hard test. Naruto was glad he met Iruka in that dance studio at Shippuden street. Otherwise he didn't know how he would turn out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song used in the chapter: iRobot by Jon Bellion. 
> 
> Shikamaru's poem is mine.


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day and introductions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really happy at the amount of kudos this book has already made. Thank you for reading! I'm glad you like it.

It was a painstaking wait throughout the rest of the summer vacation because Naruto was literally checking his email five times each day for two weeks. He really wanted to get enrolled into KSA but he was afraid that he wouldn't be picked. Iruka got tired of telling him to chill and just watched as his pseudo son jumped nervously after each notification ding on his phone.

"IRUKA!" Naruto's screech was accompanied by the heavy footfalls of running footsteps. Said boy barged into the caramel skinned man's room where he was busy with his laptop, waving his phone nervously.

"What is it?" Iruka asked, not raising his head from his laptop.

"I got a mail from KSA." Naruto's voice was small, much so that Iruka almost didn't hear it but he did and raised his head.

"Well open it." He encouraged with an enthusiastic smile. Naruto nodded and did as told. His bright blue eyes moved back and forth as they scanned the contents of the message and glossed over, causing Iruka to get worried at once. "What is it? What's wrong? Were you accepted? Rejected? What happ-"

"I was accepted!" Naruto whispered as he brought up his tanned hand over his mouth. Iruka set his laptop aside and collected the orange phone from Naruto's faltering hand. He was startled halfway into reading the message by the teen's scream. "I WAS ACCEPTED!" Naruto hollered as if just realizing the meaning of the message.

"That's really good news! I am so happy for you!" Iruka cheered along with his pseudo son.

"Iruka, I was accepted! Accepted!! I am going to attend the school mum attended!" Naruto's cheery grin dropped at the mention of his mother and his eyes glazed over. Iruka took note of this and placed a hand on his head, tousling the blond locks a little.

"Let's have homemade ramen to celebrate and then we'd go get your uniforms." As expected, Naruto cheered up at the sound of ramen and nodded eagerly.

The uniform consisted of navy blue trousers along with a long sleeved button down shirt of the same colour and a darkish green waistcoat and blazer. The shirt and waistcoat had the leaf logo of the school embroidered unto it and a red swirly circle on the sleeve for the shirt and back for the waistcoat and blazer. He got two copies of each item except for the dark green cardigan for cold weather and red tie.

"Such boring colours." Naruto muttered as he tried the uniform on and gazed at himself through the mirror. "It's nice and comfortable though." He complimented. Wearing the uniform made Naruto giddy and nervous. He hadn't been to a proper school setting in years so he was afraid of not fitting in. He shook his thoughts off and smiled enthusiastically.

 _'_ _KSA_ _,_ _here_ _I_ _come_ _!'_

**_Xxx_ ** **_symphony_ ** **_xxX_**

This was his second time of being in the school but Naruto still gawked at the size of it. It was huge!

"Good luck on your first day Naruto, I have to get to the staff meeting now." Iruka waved him off before going towards another direction entirely. He was a teacher in the school. That bit of information surprised Naruto a lot but the man waved it off like it wasn't something big.

Naruto made his way to the hall where the orientation service was being held. The place was filled with more people than the last time he was here for the auditions. It made him feel out of place, even worse when he figured that he knew nobody and was the only off standing person among the sea of people. Not one to be nervous for too long, he set his feelings aside and made his way through the crowd making sure to ignore the stares and whispers shot his way.

He followed the signboard that said 'new students' and took a seat next to a dark girl who tied a bandana on her head. "Hi, I'm Naruto." He introduced with a grin. The dark girl's golden eyes glanced at him briefly before turning away, leaving his hand hanging. "Nice to meet you too." He smiled nevertheless, already used to people snubbing him, and faced the platform which a woman had already mounted.

She gave them a welcome note and quickly ran through the rules and regulations of the school. Some people came and gave speeches which Naruto's short attention span failed to grab before the principal mounted the podium. The principal was a busty blond woman who had honey brown eyes and was very beautiful. Her every steps were majestic and the demand for respect oozed off her in waves. The way she talked made everyone want to listen to her and Naruto was one of those people.

"Welcome students, new and old, to another academic year in Konoha School of Arts. I am principal Senju Tsunade and you will refer to me as lady or principal Tsunade. This year, other than students who are enrolled on a scholarship based on academic standards alone, KSA gave the opportunity to talented students who are not academically sound. I shall have you know that this grace is not to be taken for granted. Since KSA produces not only artists with great skill but individuals with great intellect as well, the board of directors came up with an effective way to build up the academic skills of the students that fall below average."

Tsunade paused and looked at the crowd before continuing.

"This is called the recuperative class. This class would be separate from normal classes and with different teaching methods for all students to carry along. Not only will the new students be in this class but old students which are struggling academically. This class is to help you to your feet and keep you stable. Note, however, that you can repeat grades or be advised to withdraw from school if you do not pass tests and exams." Series of gulps reached Tsunade's ears and she smiled. "Now I do not want to produce zombies, after all work and no play makes Tsunade a dull woman. Have fun but remember to study, strike a balance between play and work. I look forward to a fun academic year with you all. Thank you."

Tsunade was accompanied with a round of applause as she left, after which a tour commenced. If Naruto thought that the school was huge, the tour convinced him that the place was humongous. After the tour, they were led to their classes and that was where the real fun started. He chose a seat by the window and a locker close to the wall at the back of the room. Other students chose their individual seats and lockers while waiting for the teacher to arrive.

As he waited, Naruto looked around at his classmates and the people he would be together with for a year. There were more boys than girls and Naruto noted that the girl that sat next to him during the auditions was here. Sucking in a breath, he let it out in one go and smiled real big. "Hello everyone! I look forward to spending the year with you dattebayo!" All he received were stares, nothing out of the usual.

"Me too, youthful classmate!" A boy with bowl cut shiny black hair yelled back enthusiastically, causing Naruto to smile.

"Me too...owie!" A girl with long black hair yelped as her friend hit her arm. Naruto recognized them as the duo that sang a soul acapella at the audition. Her friend scolded her for talking to him in hushed tones but it was nothing Naruto wasn't used to.

Minutes later, the teacher entered the class and Naruto was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Iruka. "Hello students. I am your homeroom teacher, Umino Iruka and I am looking forward to working with you all. Since we're all new, why don't we introduce ourselves?" Iruka asked.

"What should we say?" The girl from earlier asked.

"Hmm, your name of course, what you do, hobbies, dreams, things like that." Iruka listed. "Let me go first. I am Umino Iruka and I sing. My hobbies are reading and singing and my dream is for us to have a wonderful time together. So let's start from you up front." Iruka gestured to the girl from earlier who was sitting at the front.

The black haired girl wrote her name in bold letters on the white board and smiled real wide. "Hello!" She waved cheerfully. "My name is Yukata and I sing. I like singing and singing and singing! I want to be a really great singer when I grow up!" Yukata's friend face palmed at her incredibly childish and embarrassing introduction but Yukata didn't seem to mind.

Her friend was up next. She had short mouse brown hair and black coal eyes and a grin which wasn't as wide as her friend's but cheerful nevertheless. "My name is Matsuri. I sing and my hobbies are practicing with my javelin spear and practicing my vocal chords." Matsuri introduced briefly and assumed her seat.

"Yo! I'm Inuzuka Kiba and I dance." The wild looking boy that danced at the audition introduced with a big toothy grin. He had brown hair and unique slit eyes. Two red triangles decorated the skin of his cheeks that had Naruto wondering if they were tattoos or birthmarks.

The next person was a black boy licking lollipop. Unfortunately, the lollipop didn't sit well with the class rules so he was forced to thrash it. "My name is Omoi, I play the drums and bass and I wish I had my candy back." He introduced and turned towards Iruka with pleading eyes.

"No can do Omoi, it's in the class rules." Iruka refused.

"But sensei, if eating during classes is disallowed what if one day everybody forgot to eat breakfast? Then they would come to school looking dull and since eating is disallowed they would start chewing their fingers. And when they finish their fingers, they turn on the next person to them and when that happens we have a zombie apocalypse!" Omoi actually looked serious saying all of that which was funny because Iruka was disoriented just for some moments.

"Go to your seat Omoi. Next person."

The next person was a black girl, the one wearing a bandanna on her head. "I am Karui and unfortunately I am Omoi's twin sister. I play the keyboard." She said and hopped off the teacher's platform. At this point nobody was telling about their goals anymore, just their names and what they do.

"I am Konoha's handsome blue devil, Rock Lee!" Yelled a boy with black shiny hair in a bowl cut and the thickest eyebrows ever known to man. He was the one who replied Naruto when he introduced himself to the class earlier that day.

"Akimichi Choji." Munch munch munch. "I sing." Another munch and Iruka told him to trash the potato chips he was holding. Choji was a chubby boy with auburn hair and red swirls on each of his cheeks. The boy looked at Iruka like it was the end of the world when he was told to trash his chips but Iruka remained firm in his decision. Choji though, was smart and unable to part with his chips so he downed everything in three large gulps and trashed the wrap into the bin.

Iruka heaved a sigh and called the next person. It was Shikamaru from the auditions. Naruto could never forget his performance that easily because it was awesome. After Shikamaru came the girl with two buns. She wore sweat pants under her school uniform skirt.

"I am Tenten and I dance." Tenten introduced. Although her voice was adorably girly and maybe squeaky, the aura that radiated from her screamed 'mess with me and I'll dance in your grave.' She seemed to be a tomboy. It was finally Naruto's turn to introduce himself.

"Hi!" Naruto beamed and looked around at his classmates only to wish he didn't. Those _eyes_. They all looked at him with those _eyes_. It was annoying and unnerving but Naruto's smile didn't falter. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I dance. My goal is to be a greater dancer than my father was so that everybody would know that I am somebody, somebody important." He finished.

"Eh? So that was why you killed him?" Kiba sneered from where he sat.

"What was that?!" Naruto fumed.

"I was wondering why you killed your parents." Kiba shrugged as if he was talking about the weather. "I don't know why you were accepted into this school, after all you could kill us too."

Naruto fumed with anger as he jumped over the platform to Kiba's table. "I dare you to say that again, bastard!"

"Okay that's enough. Kiba, that wasn't nice of you to say and Naruto, we are in a class. Fighting on the school grounds is prohibited but I would let you two off the hook today. Go to your seat Naruto." Iruka broke the brewing fight but it was clear that there was still tension between the boys.

"Hi everyone! I am Tamaki and I like cats. I play the cello and I look forward to spending the rest of this year with you." The last person to introduce herself, Tamaki, smiled as she did so.

Iruka climbed the platform to start classes when he noticed something quite wrong with his class. "Hmm, I thought I was assigned to twelve students." He muttered as he counted their heads. "There are eleven of them here. Oh well." He dismissed his thoughts and began the lessons.

**_Xxx_ ** **_symphony_ ** **_xxX_ **

"Sakura!" A girl with platinum blond hair and teal eyes squealed as her friend entered the class.

"Ino!" Her friend, a girl with pale hair that shone with a pink glint under the light and emerald eyes squealed with equal excitement as she sighted her bestie. Both girls ran to meet each other in the middle of the class and squealed with excitement.

"I missed you!" Ino said.

"I missed you more!" Sakura replied and both of them gave each other a hug despite having seen each other throughout the holidays... Their houses are practically blocks away from each other.

"Good morning!" A girl with red hair and matching glasses sang as she entered the class.

"Karin!" Ino and Sakura squealed in unison as they did a group hug with their friend.

"How was your long vacation?" Sakura asked.

"Fine fine. Nothing interesting happened. You?" Karin waved a dismissive hand at the girls as she chose a seat.

"Same here." Sakura agreed as she sat. "Just the same old ballet training."

"Yeah." Ino agreed. Th Blondie suddenly perked up as she remembered something. "Guys, did you see Sasuke-kun's instagram story?"

"Oh my God yes! The Uchihas are soooo hot!" Karin squealed.

"I know right?" Sakura agreed with a dreamy look on her face. "But Sasuke is the hottest."

"Norms." Ino sighed dreamily before perking up again. "Hair count! My hair is the longest here." Indeed Ino's platinum hair stopped mid back.

"Are you still on about that rumour that Sasuke likes long hair?" A new voice intruded their girl chat and the three of them faced the intruder, scowling.

It was their classmate, Suigetsu and his annoying way of crawling under the girls' skins. The boy had silver bluish hair and amethyst eyes along with sharp white teeth which gave him the look of an aquatic animal. His signature purple water bottle was in his hand while he had his other arm slung around Juugo. 

Juugo had a big body build but was very gentle and quiet in nature unlike his best friend. He had ginger hair and gentle amber eyes.

"If that's the case, he has fallen hard for Neji or Haku." Suigetsu teased because Haku and Neji's hair was longer than most girls' hair.

"Shut up!" Karin yelled. "My day was going perfectly fine until I saw your face!"

"Oh? Disappointed that I am not your Sasuke-kun?" Suigetsu taunted. Karin was about to sock him in the gut when a calm voice greeted them. 

"Good m-morning everyone."

"Hinata!" Ino squealed and ran to hug the startled girl.

"Hello Hinata." Sakura greeted as did Juugo and Shino who was in the class all along. The dark haired boy's quietness often made him melt into the background and left him forgotten.

"Eh Shino, when did you arrive?" Ino asked the guy in surprise.

"I was here with you the whole time!" True enough, Ino and Shino were the first duo to get to class and they did spend a few minutes together before Sakura arrived.

"You were?" Ino was dumbfounded.

"I was, that's because we were the first two to arrive."

"Oh." Ino said dumbly. Shino was too inconspicuous for his own good. "Anyway did you guys hear?" Always one for gossip, Ino had some juicy news.

"Hear what?" Suigetsu asked from his chosen seat behind Karin's.

"The murderer is enrolling here at KSA." 

"Eh?!" Everyone in the class except Juugo, Hinata and Shino exclaimed.

"N-nani the hell?!" Suigetsu exclaimed.

"What?! Is that even safe?" Sakura expressed her fear.

"Who is the murderer?" 

Everybody turned and gave Hinata the 'are you serious?!' look which caused the shy girl to retreat further into her seat, blushing.

Sakura was the first to speak. "You know the boy who murdered his parents, Namikaze?" 

"Oh." Hinata realized and nodded. "School life must be difficult for him." She noted.

"Hinata, you seriously aren't concerned for the murderer's school life, are you?" Sakura scolded.

"Leave my cousin alone pinkie." A new voice interrupted them. Neji entered the class, blinding it with his 'I am your king, bow before me' aura.

"Yo Neji." Suigetsu greeted.

"Hello Suigetsu." Neji greeted back. "What is this I hear about Namikaze?" The long haired boy asked as he chose a seat behind Hinata. That way, he could monitor her without being obvious about it.

"He is in our school!" Ino exclaimed placing her hand over her chest like a frail damsel.

"I also heard that Gaara was demoted to the recuperative class." Karin piped from her seat.

"The scary redhead was demoted?!" Sakura gasped. "What a relief! He gives me the creeps."

"I know right?" Ino agreed.

"Oh?" Neji raised a perfect brow at the news he was hearing. This year would be really interesting.


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Yota, Naruto's first friend.

The bells rang for lunch time and the teacher dismissed them. Naruto watched as the class split into groups to the dining hall where the food was served. He was the only island there.

Pushing sad thoughts aside, he went to the cafeteria to get his lunch. They were serving curry rice, eh not too bad. The problem arose when he wanted to sit and realized that there was no where to sit. Friends occupied the tables and he was glared at when he approached an empty seat.

"Fine!" Naruto spat and took his lunch to the rooftop where he would be alone. He made his way to the stairs that led to the roof top and climbed them jumping two steps each. He just wanted friends, what was wrong with that?

The soft sound of a pop song reached his ears which grew louder the further he climbed. It seemed like he wasn't the only one who chose to come here. Naruto pushed the door separating him from the roof open with one hand and stepped into the open space only to be greeted by a mesmerizing sight.

A dark haired boy was dancing to the pop song which was louder and clearer now. Every move the boy made seemed like he could levitate and the wind seemed to dance with him. He was graceful, precise and flawless and it intimidated Naruto. Food long forgotten, he watched as the dark haired boy danced and didn't realize that he had stopped until the music stooped.

Obsidian eyes glared darkly at him as the boy switched off his Bluetooth speaker. "What are you looking at, usuratonkachi?"

Naruto's eye twitched at the name he was referred to as. "Your dancing." He answered anyway. "It was amazing!"

"Hn." The boy grunted. "You need not tell me what I know."

Naruto found himself wondering why he was intimidated by this pompous jerk. "You don't need to be a jerk about it, bastard." The dark haired boy stopped walking and glared at him darkly.

"The only bastard here is the one who murdered his parents."

Again with the murderer thing. It vexed Naruto to no end but there was nothing he could do without solid proof. The wind carried his sigh as he sat on the floor. _Dammit_ _._ His food was already cold because of the bastard.

Naruto put the tray aside and went to the edge of the roof where he sat. He looked down the high building at the floor below and looked up to the sky. He pursed his lips and started whistling a tune which his mother used to sing before she died. When he whistled the loneliness felt bearable compared to other times despite it still being there.

The bells signified that lunch was over so he packed up and left the roof. He didn't meet the dark haired boy on the roof the next day to which he was slightly sad at. He hoped they could get past their bad first meeting and talk but it seemed not.

He ate his lunch in silence and went to sit at the edge of the roof again. Naruto pursed his lips and started whistling the same tune from yesterday. He bobbed his head along with the tune and closed his eyes, feeling the wind in his hair and enjoying the solitude until a voice interrupted him.

"What drag."

Naruto turned around to see a boy sitting up from a corner. He didn't notice that he was there. Wait, he knew this guy. It was his classmate and the one who got a golden buzzer in the enrolment auditions.

"I didn't notice you there." Naruto spoke apologetically but Shikamaru just yawned.

"It's okay, I was just watching the clouds anyway." The pineapple haired boy said and leaned his back on a wall. Silence ensued between them but Naruto was comfortable with it since Shikamaru wasn't running away from or bashing him. It was the sound of the bell that disrupted the silence between them.

Naruto leapt off the edge and picked up his tray. He stopped when he saw that Shikamaru was making no move what so ever to get to class and called out to him. "Aren't you going to get to class?" He asked.

Shikamaru yawned and waved a dismissive hand. "You won't tell on me right?" He asked lazily.

"No promises." Naruto said and Shikamaru sighed.

"What a drag. Alright fine, I'm coming." The two boys got to class only a few minutes late. Naruto and Shikamaru often met each other at the rooftop and got quite used to each other's company.

_**Xxx Symphony** _ _**xxX** _ __

Shikamaru never really took anything serious. He wasn't serious at the auditions but somehow got a golden buzzer, he wasn't serious during tests which was why he was in the recuperative class in the first place and he certainly wasn't serious about what he felt about Naruto.

The others avoided him like the plague but Shikamaru didn't understand why. He didn't want to understand why, it was a drag. The lazy bones yawned as Choji led him through the school grounds after closing hours. Choji groaned as he frantically searched under a rock for his pen. He was sure he lost it around here.

"Shikamaru, you are not helping me to search!" The chubby boy complained to his friend.

"I am searching." Shikamaru drawled and glanced into one of the many flower pots in the school. Choji cast him a glare and was about to speak when the sound of somebody crying reached his ears.

"Did you hear that?" The chubby boy asked his friend who nodded. "Somebody's crying, let's go check it out!" Choji announced and started for the direction of the noise.

"Choji!" Shikamaru groaned and reluctantly followed his friend. He wanted nothing to do with bullies!

Choji and Shikamaru stopped when they saw a boy tied to a lamp post not too far off from there. He was the source of the crying. The boy had brown long hair and green eyes which were glossy with fresh tears. Both boys ran to where the younger one was staying.

"Oh!" Choji noticed something in the boy's hand. "That's my pen." He noted. The boy clenched the pen so hard as his crying increased at Choji's note. The chubby one sweat dropped and waved his hands frantically in defeat. "I won't collect it, I promise!" He yelled but the boy only cried harder.

"You heartless people! How dare you hurt the child?!" A sharp voice scolded behind them. Both boys turned around to see a blond girl with teal eyes storming towards them angrily.

"Hold your horses there woman, we found him like this." Shikamaru explained before she could do anything. The girl paused in her tracks and stared at them disbelievingly.

"Really?" She asked dryly.

"Really." Shikamaru confirmed. The girl looked at them both one last time before kneeling to the boy's level.

"Hello Yota, it's me Ino." She said softly.

"I-Ino." The boy, Yota, stuttered as he recognized the girl before him. His cries reduced to whimpers and hiccups as Ino wiped his tears away.

"Who did this to you?" Ino asked.

"Big bad boys, bad boys." Yota whimpered and Ino sighed angrily. Those bullies again!

Choji noted that it was only Yota's bag that got tied to the post and frowned. Why didn't he just remove the bag from his shoulders and then loosen the rope tying his bag to the post?

"He's autistic." It wasn't a question. Shikamaru had seen it in the boy the very moment he laid eyes on him.

"Yes he is." Ino seethed. "And some people think it is fun to hurt him because of it. If I get them, I'll kill them all!" She promised with fire in her eyes. Her anger died down a bit and she looked at the duo. "I'm Ino, Yamanaka Ino. You're?"

"Akimichi Choji, nice to meet you."

"Nara *yawn* Shikamaru."

"Me Yota! Yota!" Yota suddenly piped up from where he sat. Shikamaru and Choji smiled at the small boy.

"Hello Yota." They greeted nicely. The young boy giggled softly but his smile soon turned to a frown when his stomach rumbled.

"Hungry." Yota whispered.

"Ah!" Choji perked up and removed his bag pack. "I have something..." He muttered as he withdrew a bag of his favorite consommé flavoured potato chips from the bag pack. He handed it to Yota who ripped it open and downed it in a few minutes.

"Yota still hungry. Still hungry." Yota claimed. This time Ino gave him some cookies which she bought from lunch and Shikamaru gave him banana milk. They watched as Yota downed them all and let out a satisfied burp.

"So messy." Ino muttered and wiped the cookie crumbs away from the sides of his mouth.

"So...what happens from here?" Shikamaru asked. He was eager to go home and sleep even though his mother would probably disturb him.

"His guardian should have arrived by now." Ino spoke while she helped Yota to his feet. The young boy clung unto her like a child to his mother which caused Choji to giggle.

"How long have you known him for?" The chubby one asked.

"Three days." Ino answered with a shrug. "I met him for the first time at the trash. Some people thought it would be nice to throw him in a bin." The blond scowled angrily. She swore once again to crush whoever did that to Yota.

Shikamaru yawned and pocketed his hands, assuming his usual lazy demeanor. "You don't look like a nice person. I thought you were one of those rich and snubby cheerleaders." He drawled lazily as if talking was somehow difficult for him.

"Oh I am not too nice." Ino snorted. "But I go well along with people."

"So what do you do?" Choji asked. His mouth was itching to eat something but his last bag of chips was eaten by Yota.

"I am a ballerina." Ino informed. "What about you guys?" She redirected the question to them.

"I sing." Choji answered.

"Ditto." Shikamaru yawned.

"Piano! Piano!" Yota cheered which caused the trio to look at him.

"Yota, you play the piano?" Ino asked.

"Yota play, play the piano, the piano." Yota declared proudly.

"That's very nice! I want to see you play one day." Ino smiled like a doting mother as they led Yota to the school gates where his guardian was. Ino sensed some resistance in the boy but as soon as the man gave him a look, Yota released Ino's skirt and scampered over.

"Bye Yota." Choji greeted while Shikamaru just waved but Ino felt uneasy. What could her feelings be about?

* * *

Emerald green eyes watched as Ino met up with two boys she had never seen before. Sakura had been wondering where Ino went every morning before classes began and today, she was determined to find out.

The boys, she had never seen them before. One had black pineapple shaped hair and a lazy demeanor while the other was chubby and always munching something. Sakura followed them to the elementary building. They seemed to be looking for somebody and the pinkette wondered who.

"Eh? He isn't here." Ino spoke once they checked a class and did not find whoever they were looking for. The lazy guy she was with simply yawned while the chubby one spoke up in concern.

"I hope he is not hurt." He said.

 _'_ _Who_ _are_ _they_ _talking_ _about_ _?'_ Sakura wondered. She was startled when a figure suddenly popped into her vision, obscuring her view of Ino and the boys. Looking down at the elementary boy that startled her, she saw that it was a brunette with big green eyes smiling at her.

"Konichinwa gaki, who are you?" Sakura asked, kneeling to his level but the boy only got excited and started dancing around her.

"♪ kon kon kon, it's snowing kon kon kon! Kon kon kon, it's snowing kon kon kon!" He sang blissfully as he spun around her in circles. Yota liked this pretty lady, her hair was like ice cream!

"Yota!" Sakura heard Ino's scream and footfalls.

"Ino!" The boy named Yota squealed in delight and ran to her. "Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, pretty pretty!" He jumped excitedly as he pointed to a gaping Sakura.

"Oh, Sakura!" Ino exclaimed upon seeing her best friend standing there.

"I-Ino! Who is he?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, this is Yota. Yota meet Sakura." Ino introduced. She also introduced Shikamaru and Choji to Sakura and from there they became friends.

The four highschool freshmen met up each day with treats for Yota. Something about the small boy was relaxing and made them want to be together. It was lunch break when Sakura found Yota in the first year building.

"Yota?" The pinkette questioned herself. He was not supposed to be in this building for the elementary building was at the other end of the school. "Yota!" She called to the boy who was looking lost and overwhelmed by the presence of so many people.

"Sakura! Pretty, pretty!" Yota exclaimed with a big smile, making heads turn and Sakura blush. She went over to the boy and knelt down to his level.

"Hello Yota, what brings you here?" Green eyes zeroed in on a bruise on Yota's cheek and pink eyebrows met. "Who did this to you?" She asked.

"Sakura! Where were you? I have been...Yota?" Ino stopped upon seeing the autistic boy with her best friend.

"Ino!" Yota cheered with a smile but Ino wasn't fooled. She was protective over this young boy as though he were her little brother so she had come to read his expressions fairly easily.

"Yota, who did this to you?" Ino asked, kneeling down beside Sakura and gently caressing his bruise.

Both girls paid no attention to the gazes that were sent their way as they interrogated the boy. "Fuu fuu, big boy! Big boy! Fuu!" Yota explained but the girls weren't getting it.

"Fuu?" Sakura asked confusedly.

"Fuu fuu!" Yota repeated while pursing his lips. Ino shared a puzzled glance with Sakura and they both stared back at Yota. The boy in question suddenly pointed at something behind the two girls and exclaimed. "Fuu!"

Ino glanced back and her teal eyes narrowed in anger. She should have known! "Damn you Namikaze!" The blond girl moved in three big strides to where a clueless Naruto stood and gave him a harsh slap across the cheek.

Naruto's head snapped sideways not because of the impact but because he was taken by surprise. Recovering from his shock, Naruto faced Ino with a scowl on his face. "What the hell was that for?!" He exclaimed.

"Don't you dare act innocent with me! You hit Yota, didn't you?!" Ino accused.

"Yota? Who the hell is that?!" Naruto was furious. How could she just accuse him of something he was not even aware about?!

"You flipping liar! I don't know why the hell murderers are allowed into this school." Sakura commented from the sidelines and Naruto broke.

He could feel the eyes glaring holes through his head. He could feel the hate and disgust. It was something he could never get used to. "How about the next time before you try to hit somebody and accuse them you make sure you got the right person?!" Naruto hissed and scampered off to goodness knows where.

During closing hours, Ino and Sakura met with Shikamaru and Choji to look for Yota. The duo were not present to witness what happened at lunch break so the girls told the tale. Shikamaru yawned lazily as he listened to Ino's angry rants. "You know," He started after Ino was done. "You girls questioned him too harshly."

"Shikamaru, were you even listening?! He hit Yota!" Ino summarized in annoyance.

"Did you have proof?" That question made the two girls pause to think for a moment. It was Sakura that spoke up first.

"Yota said so himself!" Sakura defended.

"Exactly!" Ino chimed.

"What a drag." Shikamaru sighed in submission.

"What the hell Shikamaru? I know you're lenient but you're too lenient with the murderer, you know?" Ino huffed.

"He's nice." Said Shikamaru with a shrug. To be honest, he was just too lazy to be bothered by Naruto.

"It is just a front to get closer to you. He could back stab you literally." Sakura stated in a matter of fact tone.

All the while, Choji just listened to their conversation and munched his consommé chips. What to think about Naruto? He hadn't spoken much to the blond yet so he guessed he was indifferent about it. The chubby one looked up when something caught his peripheral vision.

"Look." He alerted his teammates and pointed across the grassy field next to the elementary building. It was the blond in question and Yota.

"That Namikaze!" Ino raged along with Sakura and stormed to where the unsuspecting blond sat with Yota. Her anger dissipated into nothing, however, when she saw that they were just talking.

____________________________________

Naruto sat on the green grass gazing at nowhere in particular. He could not get the feeling of the hateful eyes off of his skin. It hurt to see people judging him before knowing him but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Fuu fuu!"

The vulpine blond was startled awake from his thoughts by the sudden sound. Looking to his side, he saw a small brunette with large green eyes peering curiously albeit excitedly at him.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Yota! Me Yota! Yota!" The boy announced.

"Yota?" Naruto recognized the name and his face darkened with spite. "So you're the kid I got hit for." He spat dryly. Yota, seemingly unaware of the hostility oozing out of Naruto's skin pores, stared at him with those bog eyes and Naruto melted. It was not the kid's fault and besides, he was too cute to stay mad at. "I'm Naruto." He introduced.

"Fuu fuu!" Yota seemed to be making that noise a lot lately.

"Fuu?" Naruto's brow quirked curiously.

"Fuu fuu! Whistle! Fuu fuu!" Yota explained.

"Ooh." Naruto's face brightened with realization and he pursed his lips to whistle his mother's tone. Yota jumped up in excitement and clapped his hands happily.

"Fuu fuu!"

"Want to learn?" Naruto chuckled when Yota nodded eagerly and proceeded to teach the boy as best as he could. After many failed attempts and empty wind blowing, Yota finally managed a note.

"Yota did it! Did it!" The brunet cheered and tried again. Naruto whistled along with him on the lush green grass. It was fun being with Yota. "Naruto." Yota tapped the older boy's shoulder and whistled a four note tone.

"Uh?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"To-mo-da-chi. Friend!" Yota chirped. Naruto could feel his heart swelling. This boy was the first person to call him 'friend'. "Naruto is Yota's friend!" Yota smiled.

"Yota is Naruto's friend." Naruto smiled back.

"Fuu fuu." Yota attempted whistling again and got it wrong.

Naruto chuckled. "No Yota, you're doing it wrong. Purse your lips and slowly push air out through them like this, remember?" Naruto whistled again and this time Yota got it.

"Yota?" Upon hearing Ino's voice behind him, Naruto scowled and stood on the defensive but was shocked by the apologetic look on the ballerina's face. Ino heard enough of their conversation to figure out that she misunderstood Naruto completely.

"Ino! Yota whistle! Whistle!" Yota chirped merrily and danced around her. Ino placed a hand on his head to stop him from being dizzy and looked up at Naruto who had a displeased scowl on his face.

"What?" Naruto snarled when their eyes met.

"Ahem." Ino started awkwardly. "It seems like we misunderstood you and we're sorry." She apologized airily which pissed Naruto off.

"Was that an apology?! That's a very pathetic way of saying sorry dattebayo." The teen huffed.

"Take it or leave it, boke!" Sakura yelled and bopped his head.

"Owie!" Naruto whined.

"Anyway, I'm Ino and she's Sakura. We're in the first year advanced classes. I guess you're classmates with lazybones and Choji, right Namikaze?" Ino introduced.

"Naruto."

"Huh?" Ino was confused.

"My name is Naruto." Naruto clarified.

"You mean like the fishcake?" Sakura asked with a giggle.

"I said the same thing!" Choji piped.

"Hey! My name can also translate to maelstrom dattebayo!" Naruto huffed indignantly.

"But it still means fishcake." Ino deadpanned.

"What's your favourite food, Naruto?" Shikamaru suddenly asked.

"Ramen dattebayo!" Naruto supplied immediately.

"No wonder he's named fishcake." Sakura laughed followed by the others.

"I'm not a fish cake dattebayo!" Naruto huffed but he was very happy that they were talking to him, teasing him even.

"Dattebayo!" Yota echoed which caused everyone to chuckle.

Their meeting was dramatic but Naruto gained four friends today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Yota so much! I cried for his death when I didn't shed a tear for Titanic.
> 
> ***
> 
> Hi! Thanks for reading Symphony and for reviewing and kudosing. I really appreciate that my story is being read and loved.
> 
> If you haven't and you want to, please check out my Naruto short story named Best friend. I'd love it if you did.
> 
> See you in the next chapter, bye!
> 
> -Star.


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiba meets Yota and first day in the Seniors' point of view.

Kiba was on his way to pick his service dog, Akamaru, up from the school's pet center when he heard the sound of somebody crying. Akamaru whined beside Kiba, noticing his master's alertness.

"Come boy." Kiba commanded. The big white and brown dog following his master to where the crying sound was coming from. It got louder and louder with each step they took closer to it until they reached the garbage dump at the pet center.

Akamaru sniffed around a garbage bin and pawed at it while barking. Something or someone was in there. Sure enough when Kiba opens the bin, he finds a small brunette staring at him with scared green eyes.

The smell of the garbage was getting to him, this Akamaru noted and whined about, but Kiba shook the feeling off and lifted the boy from the trash. Said boy tried to scoot away from Kiba at first but after some persuasions succumbed and allowed Kiba to lift him.

When they got away from the dump to where the air was fresher, Kiba set the boy down and took a deep breath. The boy, upon seeing Akamaru, yelled in fright and started running down the pavement with an unbelievable speed.

"Oh come on!" Kiba groaned while Akamaru barked. "After him, Akamaru!" And so the race began between the elementary kid boy that Kiba rescued, Kiba and Akamaru.

It didn't take too long to catch up to the boy considering that his legs were shorter than theirs but what made Kiba and his exceed stop in their pursuit was the fact that the kid had ran behind a boy. Namikaze to be exact.

"Yota?! What happened to you?!" Naruto screamed in frantic worry.

"Dog, woof woof dog! Dog! Yota hates dog! Dog!" Yota cried and buried his head in between Naruto's legs.

"Dog?" It was then Naruto saw Kiba and Akamaru approaching and got defensive. "Oi, what do you want with Yota, dogface?" Naruto growled.

"I am not hurting him, I saw him in the trash and helped him. He suddenly started running away for a reason we don't understand!" Kiba defended angrily. If anyone was to call him out him on hurting someone, it should not be the person that murdered his own parents.

"Ha! So you are a nice person. Unbelievable." Naruto commented dryly.

"What was that bastard?!" Kiba being the hot head he was, started getting angry. Who was this Blondie to talk about being nice?!

"It is just as I said, jerk!" Naruto shot back.

"Naruto! Did you find Yota- oh there he is!" Sakura jogged up to where they stood unaware of the flying electric sparks between the two boys. The pinkette gasped upon seeing Yota's state and slapped the back of the boys' heads.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined.

"Ouch! What the fuck?!" Kiba yelped but got another slap in return for his cussing.

"No swearing in front of the kid and why the hell is Yota like this?! He could have developed an illness if I didn't come by! Poor baby! He is clearly afraid of the dog..." Sakura fussed over Yota and inspected his body for any sign of infections.

Ino soon found them and gave the boys a earful for 'leaving Yota to die of infections' before joining Sakura in fussing over Yota.

"What are they, his moms or something?" Kiba muttered to Naruto who shrugged. Somewhere along Sakura and Ino's fussing and Yota overcoming his fear for dogs, the animosity between Kiba and Naruto dissolved and they became friends.

None of Naruto's new friends seemed to bother about him being a murderer. As the days progressed with him, they all realized that it was impossible for the loudmouthed ray of sunshine to kill his parents. His classmates began to open up to him little by little and it was all Naruto could ask for.

**_Xxx_ ** **_Symphony_ ** **_xxX_ ** __

Deidara was elated, he was finally accepted as a scholarship student in KSA! Deidara was an artist and sculptor that always looked for a challenge and most times got into trouble for it. It was boring to keep on receiving the best art award every time so Deidara left his old school for greener pastures...literally because Konoha means leaf and leaves are green.

The school was as huge as it looked on the web and it only made Deidara excited that he would finally have worthy competition. "Yes hmm! Art is a blast! KSA would know Deidara's art and be amazed yeah!" The blond exclaimed with his fists in the air.

"You have five minutes to get to class, late comer." A deep voice sounded from behind him and Deidara turned around. There he was, the person Deidara had eyes on, Uchiha Itachi.

The Uchiha was KSA's ace student who had straight A records and many talents which included painting, instrumentals, dancing and singing. He was the walking embodiment of talent and Deidara could not help but be irritated by him.

The blond felt that his art was better than the prodigy's. No, he knew that he was better than Itachi. It was one of the reasons he applied for KSA, to defeat the Uchiha in his own game.

"You are not the boss- hmm shut up! - you are not the boss of me, Uchiha! Hmm!" Deidara crossed his arms across his chest.

"You are a Touretter?" Black eyebrows raised in mild curiosity.

""So what, hmm?!" Deidara shot back indignantly. His Tourette syndrome made it difficult for many people to understand his speech, some of which even take offense in his unintentional swearing, but Itachi figured him out at once. It was annoying! Those onyx eyes were condescending to a level though subtle.

"You have three minutes till classes begin." Itachi warned and walked past him down the third year building.

"Uchiha Itachi!"

The dark haired teen turned around and gazed at the blond with his intimidating eyes and aura. He was not surprised that this jumpy blond knew him after all he was very popular. "Yes?"

"I will defeat you hmm! Watch your- come on!- watch your back because I would defeat your- your your hmm!- your art with my art yeah!" Deidara proclaimed.

"Oh?" Itachi raised an amused brow. A challenger? How fun but... "You can't beat me." He stated the obvious fact. "It is only natural for inferior people to challenge me because of intimidation. Art of your level can't beat me."

Deidara barely registered his words because he was looking into the intimidating eyes of Itachi. The black pools held tints of red in them that made them unique. When Dei did register his words, Itachi was already walking away from him.

Fueled with anger, he fished out a ball of white clay from his pocket and flung it at Itachi. "I'll show you, hmm!" He yelled and was about to detonate the clay when Itachi suddenly flung a pen at it from his pocket without even looking.

The pen hit its target and pinned the clay blob to a wall, shocking and amazing Deidara to annoying levels. Itachi clicked his tongue in irritation. "Hn. Pathetic." And he left Deidara alone at the hallway.

Deidara stormed into his assigned class in fury. Who was that Uchiha to look at him with deigning eyes?! Well as he read, the Uchiha was worth a challenge. An evil smile crawled its way up to Deidara's face as he thought about improving his art and skills to rub his victory on Itachi's face.

"Whenever you're ready, you can introduce yourself." Dei was brought out of his trance by the teacher's voice and wow did the teacher look creepy. Long black hair, yellow eyes marked with purple eye shadow makeup and pale skin? What was he, a snake?

"Hmm! I am Deidara hmm and I have Tourette syndrome- fuck you- so I can't control, yeah, some words and movements I say and do. I am a sculptor and I believe art is fleeting, yeah."

Deidara got a snort from a redhead because of his last statement. "Art is eternal, brat." The redhead refuted and before Deidara could get the chance to give him a sermon about the beauty of fleeting art, a ginger raised his hand for questioning.

"Yes Yahiko?" The snake teacher asked.

"Question for the newbie." Yahiko continued when he was permitted to speak. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your eye?"

"Ah. It was a fire accident hmm. It affected my eye and the skin around it so I wear yeah I wear this gadget over it to help my sight yeah." Deidara explained and pointed to the gadget around the left side of his face and eye.

"Oh." Yahiko nodded.

"Okay no more questions. Go sit near Itachi. Ita-!" Orochimaru-sensei started but was rudely interrupted by Deidara.

"What?!" The blond screamed.

"Hn." Itachi voiced his disagreement but there was nothing they could do about it. They were stuck together as seatmates– not technically seatmates but their seats are next to each other so seat neighbours is the best word to use.

"Damn it. Hmm."

_**Xxx** _ _**Symphony** _ _**xxX** _

Iruka noticed that for some days now, his class had been free during dance period and that a student and teacher was missing.

Looking at the student files, he shivered at the promise of a troublesome year with them. What more could he ask for?! (N: sarcasm) He was teaching dumb rocks for crying out loud. Iruka was probably the best teacher for handling their class though.

The brunet sighed and picked up his missing student's file. Sabaku no Gaara. The redhead was the living incarnation of trouble and violence. He was a truant, rebel and the bully of all bullies. Oh God, why him?!

He had Naruto, Karui and Kiba to deal with, them being hot heads and Shikamaru too. That boy was as lazy as a fart. Choji and Omoi would probably have heart attacks if they stopped chewing. Tenten was an unmotivated little shit who only gets riled up if dancing was involved. Matsuri and Tamaki were okay-ish when they weren't ignoring the teachers. Lee was a whirlwind of energy, much so that Iruka wished he could throw him out the window and Yukata? Yukata was a lost cause. The girl was denser than a rock. And then there was Gaara who was everything in one.

*sigh*

"This would be a long year!" Iruka groaned.

"I pity you, Iruka-sensei." Yamato laughed. He was the math teacher so he knew first hand how Iruka's students were.

"By the way, where is Kakashi-sensei?" Iruka asked the fellow brunet.

"Oh you didn't know? Kakashi resigned." Genma answered from behind Iruka. He was the literature teacher.

"What?!"

* * *

The moment it was lunch break, Deidara started packing up to go to the cafeteria when he noticed that everywhere was dark. The long haired blond looked up and saw everybody in the class gathered around his table like it was a freaky cult....

"What hmm?" Deidara questioned.

"We would be classmates for a year so it is only natural we introduce ourselves." A girl with light bluish purple hair spoke. She had beautiful golden eyes and an origami rose stuck in her bun.

"Okay hmm. You know my name al- yeah- already." Deidara said.

"I am Yahiko and I draw and paint." The ginger who asked him a question earlier introduced himself first. "I would love to open a tattoo and piercing parlour sometime. Hey, do you think a piercing would suit me?" Yahiko was pretty jovial.

"Yeah hmm. Across the bridge– art is a fucking blast!– the bridge of your nose would be awesome, yeah."

"Oh no. Now you've done it." A brunet muttered, giving Deidara the kind of look that was given to someone when they did something wrong. Done what? Deidara was about to ask but was answered by Yahiko's victorious yell.

"HELL YEAH! I told you guys that nose piercings would look really good on me and now the new girl is supporting me! In your faces, ha!" Yahiko exclaimed while Itachi snorted in an attempt to hide his laughter.

Deidara's eye twitched in annoyance at Yahiko's preposterous assumption. "I am a guy, dammit! Hmm!" He yelled indignantly, causing Itachi to chuckle a bit. Deidara met his laughing face with a sharp glare that caused the Uchiha to stop laughing.

"You're a man?!" Yahiko yelled in surprise.

"You do not look like a man." A muscular guy with brown hair spoke with a bored voice. He was the brunet that spoke earlier. "Or a woman."

"Why are you insulting me?" Deidara spoke for the first time today without a grunt.

"I'm sorry, man...woman." The brunet apologized but it only caused everyone to laugh much to Deidara's chagrin.

"Oh my God! Deidara, I'm so sorry about these idiots. It is kind of like a tradition to tease newcomers so please forgive us." The girl from earlier, she was the only girl in the class, apologized on everybody's behalf.

"Hmm!" Deidara hummed defiantly.

"I am Konan and I play the saxophone. I like origami art though because it is awesome." The girl, now Konan, introduced herself.

"Uzumaki Nagato." A quiet redhead introduced himself. He had been laughing behind his palm at Deidara's expense earlier as if he was trying not to laugh but couldn't control it.

"Call me Hidan No Fucking Last Name because last names suck major balls. So tell me, what blood type are you?" A boy with silver slicked back hair and magenta eyes licked his lips with a crazy grin. Wow, his speech so colourful.

"Don't listen to him." Nagato warned, earning him a betrayed (albeit playful) look from Hidan. Deidara listened and decided not to answer Hidan's question about his blood type. Why did he ask anyway?

"Kakuzu. Money is my hobby." The brunet that jested him earlier spoke up after Hidan. 

"Kakuzu-chan, money is not everything in life." Hidan lectured, causing everyone in the room to roll their eyes as if they were expecting this to happen sooner or later. "Jashin would give you salvation and blessings if you just accept him." 

Who is Jashin?

"No one wants to join your bloodthirsty cult, Hidan." Kakuzu muttered dryly.

"It is not a cult, it is a religion!" Hidan defended.

"Yeah, yeah, break it up you two." A black guy suddenly broke the argument between the both of them. "Sup? I'm Hoshigaki Kisame and I love marine things. Pleased to meet you." Kisame smiled which revealed his sharp shark like teeth.

"Yeah. Your skin is blue hmm." Deidara blurted. When he realized that his statement was rather rude, he apologized and tried to make amends but Kisame only laughed about it.

"It's okay, I'm used to it. I fell ill when I was young and barely survived. My bluish skin is a kind of reminder that I could have been dead plus I look more like a shark this way." Deidara relaxed hearing that. He didn't want to offend anybody on his first day.

The next person to introduce themselves was Itachi but Deidara huffed and stuck his nose in the air while the dark haired teen grunted.

"You two act as if you know each other." Yahiko observed.

"We crossed paths at the hallway before classes." Itachi supplied.

"Oh." Yahiko nodded.

"Akasuna no Sasori. I sculpt and hate waiting." The redhead from earlier introduced himself. While everyone else chuckled or laughed about the joke Yahiko and Kakuzu pulled on him, this guy only gave a small quirk of his lips and was otherwise blank. He had a blanker and emotion void face than even Itachi.

"You're the one that said that art- katsu!- art was eternal. Let me tell you something danna, hmm, art is meant to be short and a passing thing yeah. It is the most beautiful when it dies hmm!" Deidara refuted Sasori's opinion of art but the redhead could not be convinced.

"Brat. Art is long lasting and for eternity. It is meant for continuous appreciation which only happens when it is eternal." Sasori lectured with an equally bland tone as his face was.

Deidara was about to say something more when Konan stopped them. "Something tells me that this argument will not end until Kakuzu parts with money." She ignored the brunet's indignant snort and clapped her hands. "Let's go eat guys! They're serving curry rice today."

Konan dragged Yahiko out of the class while Nagato followed quietly beside them. Hidan pocketed his hands and walked in stride with Kakuzu who kept threatening to kill him while Kisame and Itachi walked like civilized humans to the cafeteria and Deidara and Sasori continued their argument as they walked to the dining hall.

The long haired blond did not see that he was walking into somebody because of his argument until it was too late. He collided with the person who was thankfully not holding food and was happy when neither of them fell.

"Sorry, un...." He started to apologize but froze at the sight of the girl before him.

"I am sorry..." Ino, whom Deidara bumped into, started but also froze.

A sky blue eye met a teal eye.

"Oh..." Deidara started.

"My..." Ino continued.

"GOD!" They chorused. "Love the hairstyle (hmm)!" They both had the same hairstyle which consisted of a high ponytail and a side fringe. The only differences in their hairstyles was that Deidara left the lower part of his hair flowing down his back in sunny waves while Ino left hers over her shoulders. Their fringes also differed because Deidara's was on the left side while Ino's was on the right.

"May God save us from the blond apocalypse." Sasori muttered under his breath and went to take his lunch while Deidara and Ino fussed about their hairs.

"Your hair is so long!" Ino gushed as she reached out for Deidara's hair. "Can I touch it?" 

"Yeah, hmm." Dei nodded.

Ino gently took his ponytail in her hands as if it were gold. "So sooft! What hair treatment do you use?" She asked.

"Shea butter, onion juice..." Deidara started but Ino cut him off.

"...coconut oil and aloe vera. Omg, I use it too!"

"I like you, hmm." Deidara patted his junior's head like every other good senior would.

"This is a meeting of destiny. I'm Ino!" Ino grinned.

"Now you sound like Neji." Sakura, who was beside Ino and waiting for her all along, muttered. She was getting impatient already but that was before she saw Deidara's nails. "Whoa!" The pinkette gasped. "This nail art is awesome!"

Deidara's left nails were painted red with white nail art birds on them. The blond flaunted his nails to Sakura and Ino, revelling in the attention from two cute jhokais. "Call me Deidara. I did them myself hmm. It's more like -excuse you- more like a hobby of mine hmm than anything."

"Can you do this for me please? I want cherry blossoms." Sakura begged.

"Sure." Deidara chuckled. "If you'll excuse me ladies, un, I have to go yeah."

"Oh right, Deidara-senpai!" The best friends bowed and giggled away while Deidara went to take some food and sit at his classmates' table.

"How did you get their attention? They're so cute!" Yahiko exclaimed the moment he sat down in the space between Sasori and Itachi. The ginger got a jab on the ribs from Konan because of his comment. "Oof! You know you're the only one for me, babe."

At this, everybody at the table made gagging noises except Konan, Sasori, Itachi, Nagato and Deidara, who was surprised that Konan fell for such a goofball as Yahiko.

"Your fucking PDA is giving me a mother trashing load of cringes." Hidan shuddered.

"For the first time in my life, I agree with Hidan." Kakuzu muttered.

"Ditto." Kisame added. 

They started a conversation that they all joined in except for the silent ones in the group (namely; Itachi, Nagato and Sasori). While they were getting into the conversation and in some instances throwing rice grains at each other, a loud "Fine!" startled them suddenly from their discussion.

Heads turned to see who made the noise. It was a first year with golden hair and ocean blue eyes. The whiskers on his cheeks gave him away instantly to be "Namikaze?!" Deidara exclaimed in surprise.

"Eh? So the rumours were not bullshit after all." Hidan sneered. "That guy has big hanging balls to come to freaking KSA. What a load of crap!"

"Hidan, your mouth needs some soap." Kakuzu mumbled and brought a spoonful of rice to his lips.

"Nagato, are you okay?" Konan asked upon noticing the redhead's agitated state. Nagato held his spoon so tightly that everyone at the table were convinced that it would break into two. "Nagato?!" Konan called again.

This woke Nagato up and his grip on the spoon went lax. "Yeah." Nagato's purple eyes were trained on the retreating blond. The look was malicious and downright scary, much so that it got everyone at the table quiet for fear of him snapping. "I am perfectly fine."


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter; the red devil.
> 
> Chapter warning: depictions of mild violence.

The once rowdy hallway became graveyard silent once he stepped into the highschool building. It was expected. They parted a way for him through the middle like the red sea and he walked through it like a mafia boss.

His vibrant crimson hair could make blood jealous but that was beside the point. His eyes were seafoam green surrounded by dark rings hidden with eyeliner but that was beside the point. His didn't wear his blazer and chose to wear the dark green sleeveless sweater of the school uniform instead. His sleeves were rolled to his elbows and his tie lay askew on his neck but that was beside the point. He had a kanji tattoo matching the colour of his hair on the left side of his forehead but that was beside the point.

What made everyone part ways for him was not because of his appearance but because of his reputation. He heard the names they called him. The red devil was the most popular of them all. Sabaku no Gaara was his name. Top of KSA's blacklist and the most hated students' list, he stood at the small height of 5'4 feet but his small stature fooled nobody.

Gaara was a transferee from a neighboring city called Suna and was teased a lot because of his stature. That was until he stabbed a fork through a senior who decided that bullying the new kid would teach him his place in the school. Fortunately though, the fork was plastic so the only serious injury Gaara could inflict was a blind eye.

It had taken a lot of influential manipulation to keep Gaara in the school but since then, the redhead made a reputation for himself as the red devil. That happened in middle school.

He opened the door to his supposed class and looked around at the familiar faces of his classmates. As usual and expected, they were all afraid of his presence except Hyuga who only looked up from his book and resumed reading, uninterested and Uchiha who only glared at the sudden intrusion and continued solving some problems.

"G-Gaara! Y-You came!" The blond bimbo stuttered. She yelped and mellowed when his green eyes met with her blue ones. Hn. Pathetic.

"I am afraid that you are in the wrong class, Sabaku." Hyuga announced from his seat. His pale eyes never left the book he was reading as he spoke. "You have been demoted to a recuperative class. I suppose you know what that means."

Gaara looked at his classmate's faces (the lot of which looked away or gave him pointed stares) and he instantly regretted it. They could never make their hatred for him more obvious. The redhead spun on his heels and walked briskly away even though he had no idea where his new class was.

Back at the first year class, the tense atmosphere in the air dissolved as soon as the redhead left. Ino heaved a sigh of relief and dramatically fanned herself with her fingers. "I thought I would die just by the way he glared at me!" She exclaimed like a damsel in distress.

"I am really happy that he is no longer in our class. The years spent with him was torture." Sakura mumbled from her seat and everybody agreed to what she said.

"The look on his face when Neji told him that he was demoted was priceless though." Suigetsu laughed. "I was tempted to rub it in but that's just asking for an early funeral."

"Shut up, you're annoying." Sasuke growled from where he sat.

"Hai, Sasuke-sama." Suigetsu mock saluted with a laugh.

Iruka was in his way to class when he saw a familiar redhead walking aimlessly down the hallway. The man walked over to the wandering boy with a smile.

"Hello Sabaku-kun. I am glad that you finally came to school." The boy raised his head to look at the teacher and Iruka could not deny the goosebumps that prickled his skin. Iruka knew not to let the boy's hard glare bother him too much so he continued talking. "I am Iruka, your new class teacher. Follow me will you? Classes are about to start."

As Gaara followed Iruka to the classroom the teacher could not help but notice the bruise on his face. It had faded but was still a little bit visible. It didn't take too long for Iruka to figure that Gaara must have gotten into a fight again. How was somebody so small capable of delivering big blows and escaping fights with barely a scratch?

"Good morning students!" Iruka announced as he entered the classroom. As usual Naruto, Kiba and Lee were playing paper soccer, Choji and Omoi were sharing snacks, Shikamaru was asleep, and the girls were chattering. It was a very noisy class. Once their teacher made his presence known however, they stopped whatever they were doing and returned to their seats.

"Good morning Iruka-sensei!" They chorused with Lee's voice being the loudest and Shikamaru's voice being non existent.

"Somebody tap Shikamaru awake please." Iruka sighed. He regretted giving that instruction because as soon as he finished, Kiba and Karui punched holes through the poor sleeping boy's back.

Shikamaru groaned as he sat up and glared at the offenders. "What a drag. You guys are insufferable." The pineapple muttered, rubbing his aching back or at least where his hand could reach.

"Quiet everybody. We have a new student among us." Iruka gestured to Gaara. "Sabaku-kun, please introduce yourself." Iruka gave him a marker to write his name on the board with.

The small redhead accepted the marker and spelled out his name with a surprisingly beautiful calligraphy. "Sabaku no Gaara." Was all he said before going to the empty seat beside Naruto's. Iruka only smiled patiently at his rudeness and began the lesson for the day.

 _**•** _ _**moments** _ _**before** _ _**Gaara** _ _**and** _ _**Iruka's** _ _**arrival** _ _**... •** _

"Hey people!" Omoi sang as he barged into the class with his twin following behind him. As usual, a lollipop was stuck in his cheek and his tie was knotted roughly on his neck. Ties were not made for people like him but that wasn't the point here. "I've got gist-!" He started only to be interrupted by Karui's rude interception.

"I've got hot gist!" The burgundy haired girl announced, effectively catching the attention of her classmates.

"Oooh, what is the youthful news you have for us?!" Nobody needed to see to be able to tell that Lee just said that sentence.

"What is it?" Matsuri asked curiously.

"Is it a competition?" Tenten asked.

"No. The infamous red devil is in our class!" Karui announced. The girl frowned when she was met with silence. "Wait, wait, wait, you guys are tellin' me y'all don't know tha red devil?!"

"I've heard rumours about him but I don't know who he is." Matsuri said and Yukata and Tamaki nodded in agreement.

"Okay, lemme explain to y'all." Karui plopped herself on her table while Omoi sat on his chair in a way that his chest was facing the backrest. Everybody turned to give her attention as she spoke. "So our brother, Darui, told us of this guy. He has a tattoo on his forehead..."

"A tattoo?! That's dope!" Kiba exclaimed from where he sat on Naruto's table. The both of them had become rather close because of Yota and put their awkward first meeting behind them.

"Shut up moron." Tenten chided. "Does he dance?" She asked Karui.

"I don't know about that but get this guys. He is your worst nightmare. He stabbed a senior with a fork on the first day he transferred here and he's gat a shit ton'a detention tickets. He is the perfect description of a bad boy."

"Other than the stabbing, how bad can he be?" Choji mumbled between crunches.

"Choji, this guy is a demon especially when he's angry. Trust me, when Darui says something is spectacular, it is spectacular because that dude finds everything boring." Omoi answered.

"Oh no and he is in our class! I hope he doesn't murder anybody in anger- ouch!" Yukata yelped as Matsuri pinched her. It was then she realized what she did wrong and bowed apologetically to Naruto. "I'm so sorry Naruto, I didn't mean anything by that!"

Naruto only gave a closed eye smile which radiated fakeness and dismissed her. "No it's okay, I know you meant nothing dattebayo." He said in an overly cheerful voice but nobody noticed.

"Really? Oh that's good!" Yukata smiled and then the girls formed a group around Tenten's table to talk.

Naruto's smile broke only for a moment before he picked it up again by saying something stupid and suggesting a paper soccer game. Though his classmates were talking to him now (unlike before when they pointedly ignored him) he still felt estranged among them. The only ones that were comfortable around him to some extent were Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba and Lee but even among them, he felt isolated.

When Gaara took his seat beside Naruto, the blond could not help but hold his breath at the overwhelming aura that the guy radiated. Gaara was just a tad shorter than Naruto was, both of them being the shortest boys in the class, but the aura he had was stronger than even that bastard's aura that he met at the rooftop on the first day.

When the twins were describing him, Naruto had imagined Gaara to be huge and burly with a goatee and bloodshot eyes. He had imagined a repeater who had been in the school for five years and never graduate but this Gaara exceeded his imagination.

Short, blood red hair, green eyes, black eyeliner, red tattoo and to crown it all the 'I would kill you if you breathe near me aura'. Naruto decided not to have anything to do with the redhead there and then. He decided that so why was he looking over at Gaara's lone table during lunch?

Unlike Naruto when Gaara approached a table everybody deserted it and the tables surrounding it. Gaara was not bothered by it though, he just continued eating without a care.

"Why are you looking at him?" Kiba asked, effectively startling him awake from his thoughts. Naruto scowled in response. They were going to the elementary block to meet Yota and ensure that no bullies stole his lunch again.

"I just have a bad feeling towards him, that's all." Naruto muttered.

"Yeah me too. There is a bruise on his face, do you think it is from a fight? That guy gives me chills." Kiba shuddered to prove his point.

"What a drag. Are we going or should I just go and sleep on the roof?" Shikamaru groaned. He was way ahead of them with Choji at his side.

"Hai, hai we're coming." Kiba picked up his pace to meet them. Naruto spared a last glance at Gaara's table and picked up his pace too.

 _"_ _I_ _guess_ _he_ _really_ _is_ _a_ _monster_ _._ _"_

* * *

The taxi stopped in front of the fancy apartment building and a man stepped out of it after paying the fare. It was a weekend so there was no activities for Iruka. He had left Naruto with a lot of prepared food at his apartment so that the boy didn't get mischievous and try to cook by himself.

He wanted his apartment intact by the time he came back, thank you very much.

Iruka went into the building and pushed in the digits of the floor he was heading into the elevator button. Genma had given him this address and had wished him luck. Even Gai failed at what Iruka was about to do and that was saying something. Gai was a cockroach, no offense to the man but he was always bouncing back up no matter how many times one tried to push him out.

For Gai to fail, that meant that Iruka would do no better but the brunet was not Umino Iruka if he didn't try.

He knocked the door to the apartment he was going to and waited for a response. The door opened and a bush of unruly silver hair peeked in through the gap. Onyx eyes widened at the visitor on his doorstep but steeled over again.

"Hello, Iruka-sensei." The man greeted and stood up straight to his towering form over the smaller man.

"Hello Kakashi-sensei." Iruka smiled. He had no doubt that Kakashi knew what he was here for already.

"Come in." Kakashi ushered in politely. As usual, a surgical mask covered his facial features and his silver hair stood aloof on his head just like his personality. "Do you want anything to drink?" He asked, making his way to the kitchen.

"Just water is fine." Iruka said as he looked around the apartment. It was plain with grey walls and dark furniture. No picture lined the walls and there was not even a wall clock in sight. Kakashi came back from the kitchen with a chill bottle of water because the weather was still warm. "Thank you." Iruka appreciated.

"You're welcome." Kakashi took a seat across the couch Iruka sat and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I suppose you know why I am here, Kakashi-sensei." Iruka started.

"Yes. Please stop calling me sensei, I am no longer a teacher." Kakashi politely refuted. "And I am not going back to teaching." There was a note of finality in his voice.

"I know that. I just don't understand why you would stop teaching. Didn't dance and teaching it make you happy?" Iruka was confused as to why Kakashi decided to drop something he loved so much.

"It is not your business, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi said firmly. "If you are done, please excuse me. I would like it if you didn't come back again." The silver haired man escorted Iruka to the front door and slammed the door close softly. He missed the grin on Iruka's face during the process.

Iruka smiled to himself. If Kakashi thought he would just accept that half assed reason and sit put, the silveret just thought wrong. He had never met somebody as stubborn and persistent as Iruka yet if Kakashi actually thought Iruka would drop the case just like that.

_**Xxx**_ _ **symphony**_ _ **xxX**_

  
Gaara was alone at his table again, Naruto noted as he queued to take his lunch. He decided to eat at the cafeteria today instead of the rooftop since the girls were going to check on Yota today.

Naruto took a seat next to Shikamaru who was lazily munching on an apple. Shikamaru's laziness was on a whole unearthly level. That guy was too lazy to blink so he'd rather keep his eyes shut in sleep, that was how lazy he was. Choji was stealing his chicken nuggets but Shikamaru didn't mind while Kiba had already wolfed down his nuggets and was going for a third round. Yes third. Freaking carnivore.

The hall suddenly exploded in hushed whispers as a second year boy walked over to the table Gaara was at. He must have been dared to do it or something because nobody in their right minds would stalk over to the Gaara's table like that.

Gaara paid him no mind and continued chewing his nuggets but the boy was certainly seeking his attention because he slammed his hands down on the table. Gaara's food jumped and his water was upset so it poured across the table. Mint green eyes looked up at the offender and the hall silenced in anticipation of a strike.

"Get out or I'd kill you." Gaara's raspy voice echoed through the dining hall. The boy, bigger and buffer than Gaara was, sneered down at the redhead as he continued eating.

"So demons eat!" He mused. "I thought you ate human flesh and drank blood. Say, isn't that what your name means?"

Gaara's hand froze on its path to his mouth. The second year noticed this and was spurred on by the fact that his words had affected the red devil.

"The 'self loving demon'." The boy went on. "Say, your mum must've known how you would be like if she gave you that name. Wait, didn't you kill her?" Everybody knew that Gaara's mother was not alive anymore because he came from a very influential family. The news of her death and his birth went viral back then.

"Shut up." Gaara's grip on his chopsticks was tighter than a ballerina's corset. "Shut up." He repeated but his actions only spurred the second year on.

He laughed mockingly and fake cooed. "Oh did I hit a nerve? You shouldn't be so tense, you're a murderer after all." The boy cast a quick glance at Naruto while he said that. "Your mother hated you so much that she named you a self loving demon. Is that why you got your tattoo done? 'Love?' Who are you kidding? You kill, not love."

Gaara's fingers gripped his hair and pulled at it so hard that it looked like his skull would rupture. "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!" He said repeatedly but the second year only laughed and turned to Naruto.

"And you who killed his own parents..." Naruto's eyes steeled over as he prepared for a fight because he be damned if he just sat back and took insults calmly. But that was until Gaara snapped.

A scream was the only warning everybody got before a blur of red knocked the buff second year down. Everybody around them scampered to avoid the crossfire but still gathered around them in a circle to watch the fight. Gaara was a mad man. He drew back his clenched fist and delivered a punch so hard that everybody heard the bones breaking at the impact.

Daimaru, the second year, managed to get his footing and flipped Gaara over till he was on top of the smaller boy and threw back a punch but Gaara caught his hand and sunk his teeth into the flesh of it. Daimaru's scream rang loud above the chants of other students spurring them on to fight.

"What's going on here?" Nagato asked as he entered the cafeteria with the rest of the third years. They were held back by a teacher so they could not come early for lunch.

"It's Sasori's cousin, that's what." Kisame replied. He was one of the tallest boys anywhere really, so he could see well above the sea of heads that gathered around Gaara and Daimaru.

"Oh, the little batshit is back again. I love that fucker, make way!" Hidan started pushing through the crowd to watch the fight.

"Hidan, you should be breaking fights not watching them!" Yahiko yelled after him and followed behind him while Nagato sighed. The responsible ones in their group had to stop this before it went haywire. Too late for that though because meanwhile, Gaara had straddled Daimaru and started strangling him.

Naruto's eyes widened when Gaara's fingers clenched around the sophomore's neck in a vice grip with no intent to let go until he was dead. Gaara was truly a monster!

"Gaara!"

"Gaara!"

Two second years suddenly burst in from the crowd. One was a boy and brunet and the other one was a girl and blond. The girl worked on unclamping Gaara's fingers around Daimaru's neck while the boy worked on dragging Gaara off him.

"Gaara, let go! LET GO!" The blond girl screamed. Her green eyes were wide with fear for Daimaru was already turning purple from suffocation.

"GAARA!" The boy grunted as he pulled Gaara off in vain.

Naruto was frozen in shock much like some other people around him. The redhead's mint eyes were shrunken with malice and murder intent as his hands tightened around Daimaru's neck. Naruto could not lie that he was afraid, very afraid of the boy that was his seat neighbour. This boy was a murderer and a mad monster. He was a demon!

"Gaara." The steel voice of Sasori calling his name made the smaller redhead freeze and lax his grip. Standing behind Sasori was the rest of the third years who had several looks in their eyes.

Sasori was as emotionless as usual. Nagato, Yahiko, Konan and Kisame held stern expressions while Itachi pierced Gaara with his reddish eyes in an unreadable way. Hidan was amused and Kakuzu looked bored, he could have made some money out of this fight. Deidara, being new, was surprised and shocked.

Daimaru coughed and took in oxygen greedily when Gaara let him go. "Why?" Sasori asked.

  
"He looked at me the wrong way." Gaara answered. Just then the teachers emerged, attracted by the noise and the fact that server called their attention, and took control of the situation. Daimaru was carried to the infirmary while Gaara was sent to principal Tsunade's office for judgement.

The crowd dispersed now that the show was over but Naruto still shivered. If the third years had arrived some minutes later than they did, Gaara would have killed Daimaru and felt no remorse about it. So this was the red devil!

Gaara truly was a monster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and reviews are deeply appreciated ❤.


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're the same

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the kudos and positive reviews!

Gaara knew what was coming the moment Tsunade phoned his father. Rasa would never let this slide.

"You will not be expelled because of the three strike grace given to students in this school. As you are aware, this is your second grave offense." Tsunade spoke with authority. "A third offense would get you expelled and the only school that would be willing to enrol you is a military school or a vocational training school."

Gaara was in her office feeling smaller than he already was under her gaze and pressure. He didn't need to be reminded, he knew that he was just this close to expulsion.

"You have bad grades already and your behaviour towards everything makes matters worse. Gaara, I see potential in every child and you are no different. I don't want you wasting your life away because you couldn't contain your anger."

Tsunade sighed. She knew he was undergoing therapy from his school files but it was as clear as day that he was unresponsive.

"Your punishment would be in-school suspension for two weeks and it would start today. In other words, you would be a janitor for two weeks. Do whatever they tell you to even if it is from the pet center. You will also apologize to Daimaru when he comes back to school, am I clear?"

"Yes lady Tsunade." Gaara muttered.

"Good. Now meet Mrs Murasaki for a janitor's uniform. You're dismissed."

Gaara walked out of the office without lifting his gaze from the floor. He didn't need to see the scared looks on people's faces as he passed by, he could literally smell it. He got to the non teaching staff lounge room and knocked before allowing himself in.

"Aah, you are that trouble kid." Mrs Murasaki, he presumed, said as he entered. "Good. Here is your uniform for two weeks. You will start with the cafeteria today. Here's the key to the janitors closet (because KSA always keeps it closed to prevent, you know), everything you need is there. The hall must be clean with no spots, understand?"

Gaara didn't answer. He just gave a small bow and accepted the key and uniform. The tacky purple colour of the pullover clashed with Gaara's hair and eyes terribly. The redhead cursed mentally at whoever decided that purple pullovers would be a good janitors uniform as he changed into the thing.

It was too big on his lithe form so he had to roll the sleeves of the hands and legs. On his way to the closet, he could hear the terribly hidden snickers of laughter from students as he passed. His judgment had been swift, lunch break was just concluding when Mrs Murasaki released him so there were still lingering students on the hallways.

Gaara did not hesitate to throw a warning glance towards where the snickers came from and was greatly satisfied when the group trembled at his look. Rude as they were, students gathered to watch him take the cleaning tools he would need from the closet. Gaara walked through the whispers, snickers and low teases emotionlessly as always to the cafeteria. The place was a mess.

One would think rich and brilliant students would be clean and neat but not these ones. Some didn't trash their plastic plates, some left food all over the table and floor, some poured drinks all over the place. Gaara sighed and began working on the tables. The dining hall was big and he was the only one cleaning as punishment so by the time Gaara was done with everything, it was teetering towards the end of the last period of classes already.

Sweat matted his red hair and his hands shook from exertion but this was just the beginning of everything. As soon as he returned all that he used to the closet, Mrs Murasaki led him to the kitchen to wash the pots and utensils the cooks used in cooking. Staff dishes were also in the mix. The redhead exhaled loudly, his bangs flew up from his forehead at the force. He didn't regret what he did though. Daimaru deserved to be teased with death.

It was evening by the time he was released from school. Once Gaara got to his house, one of the servants came to greet him with a news he had been anticipating all day. "Hello young master Gaara. Lord Rasa requests your presence in his study as soon as you arrive." The maid informed.

Gaara was emotionless as he made his way to the study where his father was waiting for his arrival. The moment he closed the mahogany door behind him, a pen holder came flying at Gaara. The object missed Gaara's face by a hairsbreadth but some pens stabbed his skin. Gaara didn't blink. He knew this would happen.

"You had one job Gaara, one. Just lay low like you don't exist and stop disgracing me. Is that too difficult for you?!" Rasa growled. The man had brown hair and dark eyes, looks which Kankuro (Gaara's older brother) inherited while Temari (Kankuro's older twin) inherited his mother's blond hair and green eyes.

Gaara was an imposter with blood red hair and mint green eyes. They say he got recessive genes from his great grandparents but that might have been a lie to not make him feel bad when he was younger.

"You strangled a student?! What the hell is wrong with you?! What did I do to deserve you, you demon of a child?!" Rasa was really angry, Gaara noted dully. His green eyes never left the floor even as Rasa strode over to him and gave him a harsh blow across the cheek. "Before you kill me, I would kill you first. Kneel."

Gaara did as Rasa commanded while the man rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and fetched a golf club from the sports rack at a corner in the room. The first hit came without warning which caused Gaara to fall on his chest with a groan. He was still exhausted from the day's activities but he was quick to brace himself for more hits.

Only grunts escaped his mouth as Rasa hit him. Gaara ended up with a broken knee by the end of it. His breaths were heavy and his skin and joints were burning. "Get out of my sight." Rasa spat. "I told Karura to abort him but no she didn't. Look where her stubbornness got her."

That last statement was meant for Rasa's ears alone but Gaara heard it and his heart broke. He knew about how he was born prematurely and how it killed his mother but he didn't think she considered aborting him or that his father wanted her life over his. The hurt lasted for a moment though before his face pulled into a sneering grin.

"Too bad you can't kill me anymore, _father_ _._ " Gaara sneered. He received more beatings for it but the look on his father's face satisfied him. Gaara limped out of the study only to find Temari and Kankuro in the hallway to their rooms. They both averted their gazes as he limped past them.

"G-Gaara."

Gaara turned around to see Temari holding out a bottle of aspirin and some ointment for him. He looked at her but her eyes were not on him. Gaara bit back the temptation to throw the items on the floor and accepted them instead. He limped into his room and locked the door closed. Looking at the ointment and aspirin bottle, Gaara had unbidden flashbacks about when they were younger.

The three of them used to be really close. He remembered how they would sit on the sandy floors of Suna and build sandcastles and different sand sculptures, even poop. Everything changed that fateful day. Gaara's stomach growled with hunger but he knew that he would not be getting dinner tonight unless he went to get some at midnight. After treating himself Gaara curled himself to sleep.

-

 _"_ _Yashamaru_ _,_ _what_ _is_ _the_ _meaning_ _of_ _love_ _?"_

 _Gaara_ _could_ _see_ _his_ _five_ _year_ _old_ _self_ _asking_ _his_ _uncle_ _curious_ _questions_ _._ _He_ _could_ _see_ _his_ _uncle's_ _gentle_ _smile_ _as_ _he_ _cut_ _himself_ _with_ _a_ _pocket_ _knife_ _._ _Gaara_ _had_ _screamed_ _in_ _horror_ _but_ _Yashamaru_ _only_ _grinned_ _._

 _"_ _Physical_ _wounds_ _like_ _this_ _heal_ _over_ _time_ _but_ _wounds_ _to_ _the_ _heart_ _never_ _heals_ _._ _Love_ _is_ _the_ _only_ _thing_ _that_ _can_ _heal_ _a_ _wounded_ _heart_ _._ _It_ _is_ _with_ _that_ _love_ _your_ _mother_ _gave_ _birth_ _to_ _you_ _._ _She_ _was_ _willing_ _to_ _die_ _for_ _you_ _even_ _without_ _seeing_ _you_ _._ _That_ _is_ _love_ _, young lord Gaara._ _Love_ _heals_ _."_

 _Yashamaru's_ _face_ _suddenly_ _morphed_ _into_ _something_ _wicked_ _and_ _Gaara_ _had_ _a_ _sudden_ _growth_ _sprout_ _._ _He_ _was_ _suddenly_ _seven_ _and_ _his_ _uncle_ _was_ _above_ _him_ _with_ _a_ _knife_ _sunk_ _deep_ _in_ _his_ _lungs_ _._

 _"_ _You_ _..._ _you_ _are_ _truly_ _a_ _m-monster_ _young_ _lord_ _Gaara_ _."_ _Yashamaru_ _whispered_ _._ _Blood_ _spewed_ _from_ _his_ _lips_ _with_ _every_ _word_ _he_ _said_ _. "_ _Your_ _m-mother_ _never_ _loved_ _you_ _._ _She_ _died_ _cursing_ _y-you_ _._ _That_ _is_ _why_ _she_ _named_ _you_ _the_ _self_ _loving_ _demon_ _, '_ _Gaara'_ _._ _You_ _took_ _her_ _life_ _and_ _n-now_ _mine_ _._ _You_ _are_ _not_ _created_ _to_ _love_ _,_ _you_ _are_ _created_ _to_ _destroy_ _."_

 _Gaara_ _screamed_ _as_ _Yashamaru_ _used_ _the_ _broken_ _bottle_ _in_ _his_ _hand_ _to_ _engrave_ _a_ _word_ _on_ _his_ _forehead_ _._

_愛_

_Meaning_ _love_ _._

 _**"** _ _**You** _ _**were** _ _**never** _ _**loved** _ _**,** _ _**young** _ _**lord** _ _**Gaara** _ _**."** _

-

Gaara sat up drenched in his sweat. His hand flew to his scar where he placed a tattoo over it as throbbed with inexistent pain. This he recognized as phantom pain, a phenomenon where the body felt pain whereas there wasn't any due to trauma.

Lies.

His uncle lied to him.

Love doesn't heal, it hurts.

He thought his uncle and mother loved him. He thought he was loved.

It was all a lie.

"I love myself and I live for only myself." Gaara whispered his self calming mantra. "I love myself and I live for only myself. As long as there are people in this world that makes me feel otherwise, I would kill them. I would never disappear!"

_Love doesn't heal, it hurts._

* * *

"Hey, hey, hey!"

(AN: I couldn't help myself😅)

Suigetsu and Ino barged into the class with dark excitement followed by Juugo who was silently trailing behind his gossip of a best friend.

"Guuuyyysss!" Ino screeched. "Have you seen it?!"

"Seen what?" Sakura who arrived at school earlier than her best friend asked.

"Sabaku in a janitor's uniform!" Suigetsu answered with a laugh. "Right now he is fixing the trash bags over the bins, who wants to watch him?!"

"So the rumours yesterday was real?! I want to see!" Karin yelled and sped out of the class.

Sakura wanted to go, she really wanted to but she had to put up a front for Sasuke who was in the class working on some math problems as usual. Ino rolled her eyes at her friend's antics and dragged her by the hand away from the class.

Many other classmates ran out of the class to see the red devil janitor, leaving Sasuke and Shino alone in the class.

"Where is the fire?" Neji asked as he entered the class along with Hinata. They were on their way to the classroom when students suddenly started filing out of classes like an angry mob.

"Everyone is outside, that's because Sabaku no Gaara is supposedly wearing a janitor's uniform." Shino informed.

"Janitor's uniform?" Neji echoed.

"Hn. Do you want to join them, Hyuga?" Sasuke quipped without looking up from his textbook.

"Not quite, Uchiha." Neji replied taking his seat.

"Good morning everyone!" A sing song voice started but died down when the owner realized that the class was half empty. "Ahre?! Where is everybody?"

"Good morning Haku-kun." Hinata greeted.

"Hina-chan! Finally, somebody realizes I've been missing in school for weeks." Haku exclaimed happily. Haku was a very androgynous person with doe brown eyes and long brown hair. Many a times he was hit on because he was thought to be a girl. His signature black choker did not help matters one bit.

"At least one person realized your absence." Shino muttered bitterly.

"Shino-chan! It is nice seeing you again." Haku entered the class fully and dropped his black bag pack on a table. "Aren't you two going to welcome me back?" He asked the two geniuses whose faces were in books as usual.

"Hn." Sasuke was monosyllabic as usual.

"Hn to you too."

"Hello Haku." Neji greeted absently.

"Ah!" Haku suddenly brightened upon remembering something. "Did the great Hyuga catch your tattoo?!" He asked. Haku knew when Neji got the blue tattoo done on his forehead during the long vacation. The two long haired men were in the same holiday violin classes when it happened.

Neji had been angry about something his uncle did and so he stupidly went to get the tattoo done, at least that was Haku's point of view of the story.

"Yes, he caught it." Neji sighed. "My ears rang for weeks." Sasuke scoffed at this but everybody in the class understood that was his way of laughing. Haku also gave a soft laugh and looked around the class.

"Seriously though, as I was coming I saw a crowd. What did I miss?" Haku asked.

"Gaara-kun is the reason why the school is rowdy." Hinata responded softly.

"Sabaku-chan?! Wow, that must be graphic. Purple would clash with his hair!" Haku yelped dramatically. He was one for fashion after all.

"Only you Haku, only you." Neji chuckled softly at his classmate's antics.

**_Xxx_ ** **_symphony_ ** **_xxX_ ** ****

  
"Guys!" Karui and Omoi barged into the class. "Hot news! Gaara is a janitor for I don't know how long and hotter news, he is going to apologize to Daimaru-senpai right now!" They stumbled over their words, dropped their bags and ran out of the class with their phones to video the epic moment.

  
"This would be awesome!" Kiba yelled and grabbed his phone too.

"I want to see too." Matsuri muttered and went out of the class with Yukata and Tamaki.

"What's up?" Tenten who was just arriving at the class asked the girls who explained what was happening in the school to her. "Can he apologize?" Tenten wondered out loud.

"Only one way to find out. Let's go!" Tamaki grabbed Tenten by her hand and dragged her to the big school lawn where Gaara could be seen approaching Daimaru in the tacky purple janitor uniform.

Iruka and Naruto noticed the rowdiness of the school from the giant gate as they were coming in. The older one among them saw Yamato-sensei not too far off and walked towards him to ask questions while Naruto met with Lee and Shikamaru who were as equally confused as he was.

"Good morning Yamato-sensei." Iruka greeted. "What's the commotion about?"

"Oh good morning Iruka-sensei. Sabaku-kun was supposed to apologize to Daimaru-kun when he comes back. Today happens to be the day." Yamato explained. Kurenai and Asuma also came to settle beside them to watch how the fiery redhead would apologize for his actions.

True to Yamato's words, Gaara was standing in front of Daimaru who wore a neck cast. The senior's gaze was smoldering but Gaara's gaze was stronger, that was until it suddenly dropped when he bowed a perfect ninety degrees. Phone cameras were working full time to capture this moment.

"I-I am gravely sorry for my irrational actions. Please forgive me!" Gaara's voice rang out in chilly waves. It was obvious that this was a practiced speech, something he just wanted to get over with quickly, and that made Daimaru angrier than he already was. Rasa had compensated his parents enough to make them drop the charges filed against Gaara but the little twerp was going to pay for his actions.

"It is as clear as day that you are not truly sorry for strangling me." Daimaru looked around and saw the phone cameras among the crowd. An idea popped into his head and he barely held his smirk in. "To show that you are truly sorry, why don't you kneel before me?" It was an order, not a question.

"Why that little-!" Iruka was about to defend his student when Yamato's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"This could trigger a change in him. Leave him be." The brunet said calmly.

The look on the other teachers' faces told Iruka that they all agreed to Yamato's statement so he succumbed. 

This was the greatest form of humiliation Gaara had received yet. He had handled the demotion to the recuperative class well. He took in Daimaru's insults at the cafeteria to some point and he took in the embarrassment of being a janitor and cleaning messy toilets (which were done on purpose) quite well but this went right to his heart. Kneeling. That meant subjection and total humiliation.

He could hear whispers of bets being made on whether he would kneel or not and some laughter. Daimaru was the one to attack him first by insulting him but why didn't people see him as a monster? He had insulted his moth and name yet nobody saw Daimaru as a bully. They saw him as a victim just because Gaara retaliated. They didn't know how much it hurt to be reminded that his mother died hating and birthing him. Nobody knew. They only saw his facade and mask.

Gasps and small laughs filled the air as Gaara's knees touched the ground. His expression was dull and stony as usual but Naruto who was watching from behind Daimaru could see the emotions in his eyes. Those mint eyes were the mirror reflexion of his eyes before Iruka came into his life.

"I am gravely sorry for my irrational actions. Please forgive me." Gaara spoke softer this time. His nails dug into his palms, betraying his humiliation and hurt from this turn of events. Daimaru was satisfied with his work and left the place. Some students stuck around to take pictures for memes while others laughed about the recent scenario on their way to class.

Naruto was left on the lawn with Gaara who was still on his knees. The blond didn't know why he felt uncomfortable so he left to class.

"Hey Naruto, you're not your usual stupid self today. What's wrong?" Tenten asked but he didn't answer. Gaara's eyes kept playing in his head again and again to the point that Genma-sensei had to throw a whiteboard marker at his forehead to keep him focused in class.

"Dude, what's up with you?" Kiba asked once it was lunch break. Naruto was one of the most garrulous people in their class so seeing him silent and spaced out was disturbing.

"Nothing. I want to be alone." The blond whispered and went out of the class. He didn't go to the cafeteria. He decided to walk around aimlessly while trying to organize his thoughts. A soft metronome beat interrupted his line of thought and attracted him to where the sound was coming from. It was the school's studio room. Naruto peeked inside and saw who he was not expecting to see inside. It was just the very person that occupied his thoughts; Gaara.

The redhead was unaware of his presence much to his relief so Naruto watched silently as Gaara made a simple beat progression on the DJ machine. Though simple, the beat made sense with the various under beats Gaara added to it. From what it seemed, Gaara had been working on this rhythm for quite a while now. It was really, really good.

Naruto started when Gaara started talking but calmed later when he realized that he was just rapping to the beat.

♪ _ **Born as a beast**_  
 _ **Because of me all these lives are deceased**_  
 _ **Devoid of peace**_  
 _ **Want it to cease**_  
 _ **Made as a weapon to chain to a leash**_  
 _ **I want to be free**_  
 _ **Liked by the people surrounding me Evil, they're branding me**_  
 _ **Not understanding the person I am and I'm trying my best but I'm cursed by this sand.**_

_**See the children they ran and I cannot feel pain but there's a pain in my heart** _   
_**Writhing in agony tears me apart** _   
_**I do not want it to last** _   
_**Look for a cure, it is all I can ask** _   
_**Push me to the brink, I can't think, now I've had enough** _   
_**Yashamaru said that all I needed was my mother's love** _

Gaara's eyes slipped closed with pain he would never allow anyone to see.

**_Assassination, the hate is building, the latent powers awaken_ **   
**_My fate is sealed and I'm aching_ **   
**_The sight of my assailant and the words he's saying, I'm a failure and nothing else..._ **

Gaara's voice dropped. " _ **If no one else would help, I can only love myself.**_ " He whispered the last words of the rap to himself. Gaara released a sharp grunt and clutched his forehead in pain. "I love myself and I live for only myself." He whispered to himself and that was where Naruto stepped back.

The blond ran away without looking at where he was going. Gaara wasn't the monster between them two, he was. Naruto knew above everybody how it felt to be isolated and be called a monster and yet he...and yet he...

Naruto stopped running and heaved heavily. Who was he, of all people, to judge?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rap used in the chapter: Rustage ft CG5 – Gaara rap.
> 
> Good day everyone and good bye! See you next chapter.💕
> 
> -Star.


End file.
